Volunteer

Marlene

Today lets thank those who are volunteering right now during this crisis. You know who they are - they are your friends, neighbors, relatives, people in your community who are working tirelessly to help others. Sometimes we forget about the importance of their missions.

 

Thank you to those who provide comfort to those going through hospice, those who are delivering food to seniors and those with compromised immunity systems; to the foster parents of cats and dogs, those who make masks or start a food cupboard for their neighborhood. The list goes on and on.

 

Know that the volunteers are in our hearts and thoughts and we are grateful for all they do.  Here's to those who serve!

Time - One Of The Most Important Things In Life

Marlene

 

(A young man learns what's most important in life from the guy next door.)

 

It had been some time since Jack had seen the old man; college, girls, career, and life itself got in the way.

 

In fact, Jack moved clear across the country in pursuit of his dreams. There, in the rush of his busy life, Jack had little time to think about the past and often no time to spend with his wife and son. He was working on his future, and nothing could stop him.

 

Over the phone, his mother told him, "Mr. Belser died last night. The funeral is Wednesday." Memories flashed through his mind like an old newsreel as he sat quietly remembering his childhood days.

 

"Jack, did you hear me?"

 

"Oh, sorry, Mom. Yes, I heard you. It's been so long since I thought of him. I'm sorry, but I honestly thought he died years ago," Jack said.

 

"Well, he didn't forget you. Every time I saw him he'd ask how you were doing. He'd reminisce about the many days you spent over 'his side of the fence' as he put it," Mom told him.

 

So what will Jack do? Let's find out!

 

Time - One Of The Most Important Things In Life
https://motivateus.com/stories/have-you-learned-this-yet.htm

 

Right now we have been given a gift of time.  I know you are using it wisely.  Have a great day and stay safe.  Remember we are all in this together!

Good News

Marlene 

I enjoy bringing Good News for you to read, especially in today's times, and actively search it out.  Today we look at Spotlighting Phoenix’s positivity during the pandemic.

We're talking about the positive stories that are taking place during this pandemic. The acts of kindness that make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Because, believe it or not, it's not all doom and gloom. Good news stories are out there. And they're plentiful. 

 The link is to a podcast and there is also a transcript, if you prefer. Here it is: Spotlighting Phoenix

Thank you Mom

Marlene

A Big Thank You to all the Moms, no matter where they are, for the gifts they have given to us. Without Mothers, none of us would be here. I know I sure miss mine right now and if yours is gone, maybe you're missing her too. 

 For all the Moms who are working each day to keep their families together and safe, thank you!! Have a Happy Mother's Day! 

Before we leave today, here's a positive article that pays tribute to good deeds and kindness. Did their moms teach them these virtues? You never know :-)  Good Deeds and Acts of Kindness The Tulsa Way

Into The Unknown

You don't know what to expect when you wake up. Every moment is a new adventure. Every moment can be different than the last.

An adventure is awaiting us all in the future, however which future is the adventure in. You have many futures you can live out. Every choice you make, you can make authentic choices for the future. If you are happy within the moment, you have a precious gift.

Happiness leads to optimism and good fortune. There may be sadness out there, but all you have to do is understand. 

#piccadillyinc 

Permanence

Nothing in the world is permanent. Not even this message. The only permanence is our hope's for a brighter future. Then again, we are so divided who knows what will happen to us. This planet has been here long before us and will outlive us all. Sad to say but all the squabbles you do diminishes your life span exponentially. So be happy in the time you have allotted to you and make others feel worthwhile as well. For without your human family you would not be here as well as never feel loved and wanted as you do right now. Time is the only permanence, until we learn to harness time, dare I say manipulate it, we shall fall victim to it. I don't like being the victim, do you? I don't think we have to exploit time, just find a beneficial way to coexist with it. We need time as much as it needs us. #piccadillyinc yeremiah@aol.com Yeremiah Hardt

Nucleus of Life

You can be a part of many circles in your life, but what really makes you happy as a person? What can you offer that no one else has done before, what is your real gift you bring to this human family or in fact this cosmic family that we are just adapting to as I write this. There are so many aspects to emerge in this cosmic realm. Are we important at all? Does anything we do really matter. Of course it does. If you make someone or some other thing happy in your life, you have made a vast improvement on the likes of which you cannot even grasp. Will you be able to see the change you are making in all this chaotic minutia known as life, maybe, but that is not the point, the point is to make each and every moment you have last as long as it can, because there is one thing you can't buy and that is time. #piccadillyinc yeremiah@aol.com Yeremiah Hardt

Spreading the Love! 25 Heartwarming Acts of Kindness Sparked by the COVID-19 Crisis

Marlene The coronavirus crisis has changed our world and the way we live in unprecedented ways. Thousands of lives have been lost. Millions are unemployed. So much has been placed on pause. And in the midst of it all we are isolated, unable to connect in person with our loved ones. Yet there is one powerful, simple way that we can be united and uplifted in deeply meaningful ways: through kindness. Countless acts of kindness — small and grand — are coming from every corner of the country. yeremiah@aol.com Yeremiah Hardt

Mindfulness

Marlene

What Is Mindfulness? According to the Oxford Dictionary, mindfulness is a mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique.

Okay, after reading quite a few articles about mindfulness, I came upon two resources that I liked (and there are many more). The purpose of being mindful is to manage stress - which most people are experiencing right now.

Healing Words

Marlene 

I have told my children this every day since they were born. I told them if they learned one new thing every day and were nice to just one person every day, that at the end of the year they would have learned 365 new things and blessed 365 fellow humans. Now they are older and have become very considerate and kind human beings and told me that this has become their creed. 

Is this something you do in your life? 

Please remember that there is beauty, kindness, care and love alive around the world. Feel the goodness and positive energy, share that feeling with others today.

Stay safe, stay strong, stay home and thank you for doing your part. It's not that hard when you do it from your heart.

Free

You are free to entertain yourself a long as you do not harm others. You can read, write, create, converse with others for enjoyment. Your enjoyment is essential to your well-being as well  as the well-being of many different communities you belong to. Be daring. Be adventurous. Be creative. Live your life in the now. Do what you are willing to do, and let it be fulfilling enough for yourself.

Happiness

Is happiness a possibility? What are you striving for in life? What makes you happy one moment may not make you happy the following moment?

Being content and being fulfilled are similar to being happy, but can also be totally different. We all have aspirations, goals, and dreams and those are what makes us unique individual people who encompass this great world. But why do we restrict ourselves by saying "Oh, that's wrong," or "You can't do that." How about be uplifting as well as positive. For example, you could hold a door open for someone or make a card for a friend or just visit some people you haven't seen in a while and talk about stuff you did and stuff you remember. Remembering the past grounds you and makes you a stronger person. Your scars may hurt when you get them, but when you learn their lesson that they have been sent to you to teach, you are free to live, grow, and be happy.

Forgiveness

We all have this power. Look at all our adventures in the past and how we managed to forgive rather than hold a real grievance. Only you have the power to protect yours and what you see as family and yes even our Earthly as well as cosmic family.

Until we can come to terms with that inner anger we can not reach the magnitudes of grandeur that has been placed at our feet.

It's important to learn from the past, but once it's dealt with, let it go, don't let it consume you. Only you have the power to choose your path, others may influence it, but in the end it your choice to go down that road and embark on that adventure known as life.

#piccadillyinc

Powerful Words

( During very difficulty times, we tend to forget that life has its ups and downs, causing us to lose ourselves in the process. It is completely okay to feel upset, but during those times we have to remember to search for the voice inside that tells us that we can and will survive through anything. - Take care, Jesse Marie ) 

I love when contributors like Jesse Marie add a bit of an enrichment to why they either came up with the quote or picked a certain one to send in.

Words can be so powerful, so be sure you are filling your minds with positive messages right now. If you find you're getting a stressed out, take a deep breath and try to relax. No one needs to watch the news all the time. Exercise; move around in your place. Be nice to yourself.

Think Kind Thoughts

Taking time to think kind thoughts about yourself and loved ones has psychological and physical benefits, new research suggests.

A study by the Universities of Exeter and Oxford has found that taking part in self-compassion exercises calms the heart rate, switching off the body's threat response. Previous studies have shown that this threat response damages the immune system. Researchers believe the ability to switch off this response may lower the risk of disease.

In the study, published in the journal Clinical Psychological Science, 135 healthy University of Exeter students were divided into five groups, and members of each group heard a different set of audio instructions. The team took physical measurements of heart rate and sweat response, and asked participants to report how they were feeling. Questions included how safe they felt, how likely they were to be kind to themselves and how connected they felt to others.
The two groups whose instructions encouraged them to be kind to themselves not only reported feeling more self-compassion and connection with others, but also showed a bodily response consistent with feelings of relaxation and safety. Their heart rates dropped and the variation in length of time between heartbeats -- a healthy sign of a heart that can respond flexibly to situations. They also showed lower sweat response.
Meanwhile, instructions that induced a critical inner voice led to an increased heart rate and a higher sweat response -- consistent with feelings of threat and distress.
First author Dr Hans Kirschner, who conducted the research at Exeter, said: "These findings suggest that being kind to oneself switches off the threat response and puts the body in a state of safety and relaxation that is important for regeneration and healing."
Lead researcher Dr Anke Karl, of the University of Exeter, said: "Previous research has found that self-compassion was related to higher levels of wellbeing and better mental health, but we didn't know why.

"Our study is helping us understand the mechanism of how being kind to yourself when things go wrong could be beneficial in psychological treatments. By switching off our threat response, we boost our immune systems and give ourselves the best chance of healing. We hope future research can use our method to investigate this in people with mental health problems such as recurrent depression."
The recordings that encouraged self-compassion were a "compassionate body scan" in which people were guided to attend to bodily sensations with an attitude of interest and calmness; and a "self-focused loving kindness exercise" in which they directed kindness and soothing thoughts to a loved one and themselves.
The three other groups listened to recordings designed to induce a critical inner voice, put them into a "positive but competitive and self-enhancing mode," or an emotionally neutral shopping scenario.
All the audio recordings were 11 minutes long.
While people in both the self-compassion and positive but competitive groups reported greater self-compassion and decreased self-criticism, only the self-compassion groups showed the positive bodily response.

The Window

A young couple moves into a new neighborhood. The next morning, while they are eating breakfast, the young wife sees her neighbor hang the wash outside.

"That laundry is not very clean," she said to her husband. "The neighbor doesn't know how to wash correctly. Perhaps she needs better laundry soap."

Her husband looked on, but remained silent.

Every time her neighbor hung her wash to dry, the young woman would make the same comments.

About one month later, the young woman was surprised to see a nice clean wash on her neighbor's line and said to her husband, "Look! She has learned how to wash correctly. I wonder who taught her this?"

The husband said, "I got up early this morning and cleaned our windows!"

Can you see how it might be a good idea to check first, to see if your windows are clean?

What we see when watching others depends on the purity of the windows through which we look.

Before we give any criticism, it might be a good idea to check our state of mind and ask ourselves if we are ready to see the good rather than just look for something wrong in the people we encounter. 

Kartik Bodawala --- India

Baggage at an Airport

Marlene

You arrive at the airport - try and check your baggage but are told it's too heavy. What could you leave behind?  Take a look at the picture.  What are you carrying around?  Why are you holding on to it?

 

We sometimes forget about the burdens we carry around from our past. Intellectually we know the past is over, we cannot change one thing yet we insist on bringing the weight with us as we travel through our lives.

 

Like cleaning out our closets, may I suggest that you look at cleaning out your life too? Let go of what you cannot change, it's not serving you well. Focus your eyes and life forward. Make today your best day and continue with that attitude each day you're given.

Bonds are bonding

Marlene

Bonds that happen between animals and people are sometimes as, if not more, powerful than between two people. Non-judgment and unconditional love can help heal a life and allow a person to go back into the world and enjoy the new confidence and respect they have found.

Surviving Lifes Obstacles

Dr. Wendy S. Harpham is a 27 year cancer survivor dedicating her life work to helping patients get good care and live their life as Healthy Survivors.

 

I believe everyone's life has been touched by someone they know who has or had cancer. My own cousin's wife fought the battle with ovarian cancer for 26 years and was one of the most loving, kind and warrior like people I have ever known.

 

This quote for today is to acknowledge and honor all who have struggled with this fight. We care about you, we admire your tenacity and perseverance, your faith and hope and so much more.

 

If you know someone who is in this battle, reach out to them today. Open your heart and let them know you care and are there for them.

 

Make a difference in someone's life - it's easy.  All you have to do is show up.

Limitations

 

Marlene

Several people are forced to be satisfied with their current situation, not understanding that they have the power to make a change for the better. You never know what you can do until you try, so go ahead and give it a shot!

Perception Faults

Marlene

Perception is your view of reality, yet sometimes your perception is not exactly 100% right. Could there also be hidden facts you know nothing about at the time? When you are too quick to label, you could miss the meaning of the experience now and later.

Who Controls You and Your Emotions?

What Feelings Are Inside Of You?

I was speaking with a good friend today about how her husband really brings out the worst in her. My thought after I hung up the phone was: if it wasn't inside, it couldn't come out. It was as if she was blaming her husband for her anger. No one can make something come out that is not already inside.

Before going to bed I asked myself, "What can I do to explain this to my friend?" I let it go and went to sleep. Low and behold at 3:45 a.m. a quote came to me I heard years ago by Dr. Wayne Dyer. I quickly scurried out of bed to look up exactly what he said to share it with her today. This is what I found.

"When you squeeze an orange, orange juice comes out - because that's what's inside. When you are squeezed, what comes out is what is inside."

This was also part of it:

"Did you ever hear a kid curse in front of their parents and then respond, "I slipped up?" They didn't slip up; they slipped out what was in. Those words had to be in you, to come out of you.

The results that you're getting in your life aren't an accident; those results are based on what's inside of you. You have to change the inside, if you want change, and you change the inside by changing what you spend your time thinking about. When you spend your time focusing on good things, then good things will come out of you.

We all know my belief is: whatever you focus on - positive or negative - is what you will get, so focus on the positive. That is what the last line reminded me of. I feel this was such a wonderful life lesson learned and I want to share it hoping it will shed light on her situation and make her think about it. Maybe it will make you think, too, as you are reading this. Just the thought put me back on the right track.

I remember an ex of mine would get really mad over a certain situation and say, "I'm not usually like this". He would carry on and go off about a certain subject and say, "I don't get like this" etc. From all I learned in life, if you are like that at the moment, you can't say you are not; it's what is inside of you coming out.

Dr. Wayne Dyer also said - An orange is an orange, whether you paint it yellow or call it a lemon; if you squeeze it you will still get orange juice. A person can think they have changed an emotion or gotten over something but if something affects them and makes them that angry, it's still inside of them.

Like with an orange; if you squeeze it, you put all your weight on it, and it bursts - you are going to get juice inevitably. With people, if anger is inside and someone says or does things that create pressure for them or makes them feel like they are going to 'explode' and they have that 'explosion' waiting to erupt inside of them - they will 'explode'. If the anger is inside, it will happen again until they clear it up.

It's when we are going through those types of moments we realize what is inside us. How wonderful is that? My friend calls that an AFGO. Acronym for Another F$%king Growth Opportunity. I love that. Please excuse my French!

Really give thought to how you react to situations. Do you get mad, angry, upset? Do you say "he got me angry" or "she makes me so angry, I just explode"?

I've written many times about how I do my best not to let things bother me (as much as humanly possible of course) such as someone driving too slow or driving two inches from my bumper or even cutting me off in traffic. I learned a long time ago, when listening to one of my personal development CD's - it's not worth it. If I get angry and allow this person to affect my day and they are oblivious going along about their day - who is this hurting? Not letting these types of situations cause anxiety is really what helps me to keep things in perspective and not get upset.

Ask yourself a few questions.

Is that person who comes out when you explode the real you?

What else sets you off? Your parents? Your kids? Your animals? Your boss? Your job? Really think about this.

If so, what is it in you making that happen?

Do you see something in this other person you see in yourself?

They say we are all mirrors for each other. Sometimes someone in our present brings back something we didn't like about ourselves in the past. If you are getting angry at them for that, maybe you haven't fully forgiven yourself yet. It's amazing how once we forgive ourselves we don't get as angry with others. Just saying.

I learned a long time ago to take 100% responsibility for all my emotions, feelings, and actions. So isn't it my responsibility to take ownership of my emotions and not try to justify them by blaming someone else for causing them?

Yes. If I admit that to myself then I can begin on a more positive journey. I can change my negative patterns and behaviors to more positive ones. Once you own it, you have power and control over it. This is something that can be changed so sometimes there just needs to be courage to change the things you can in order to get that piece of mind. I know I want to become the champion not the loser.

When this thought came to my mind this morning, I got up immediately to look up something from Dr. Wayne Dyer and this is what I found that I felt would help. I do my best to practice this most of my life now. I'm human and I don't do it always but I do my very best to live, as said so wonderfully below, by one of my favorite mentors.

Love Your Enemy?

8/3/11 at 10:30 am by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer

The poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote, "If we could read the secret history of our enemies we would find in each man's sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility."

Harboring anger and hatred toward anyone guarantees that you remain in low energy fields where problems will continue to crop up repeatedly in your life. Try examining every relationship in which you feel judgmental thoughts of anger and hatred. Replace those thoughts with energies of acceptance, kindness, cheerfulness, and love. You will have to make a personal commitment to, first of all, notice what you are feeling and then exercise your ability to choose to send love.

When your heart becomes pure, your enemy becomes your friend, or even more significantly, your teacher. Your worst enemies are your greatest teachers because they allow you to examine the emotions of anger and revenge and then to transcend them. They give you the exact tools you need to elevate yourself to the spiritual energies that eliminate problems and provide solutions.

When you send love in response to hate you accomplish one of the most difficult things for anyone. As I look into my conscience I can now honestly say, I have no one who I can call an enemy. Over the course of my life I have been disappointed many times. Some have borrowed and never repaid. Some have forgotten their promises. Some have left me for others. Some have cursed me and spread rumors about me. Some have stolen from me. I send love to them all, mindful of the Buddha's words:

"We live happily indeed, not hating those who hate us. Among men who hate us we dwell free from hatred."

It has been this transformation in my own thinking, perhaps more than anything else, that has allowed me to move out of those low energy problem regions of my life. It is a powerful strategy for raising your spiritual awareness.

Isn't that great? I truly do my best to live by this thought process and had to remind myself that as my friend was was telling me her story because I started feeling something come up in me and instead I am now sending her husband love and light as I do with most situations.

This practice had truly made my life so enriched; problems and situations that would normally make someone nuts aren't as bad for me most of the time. It makes transitions smoother and life a lot more calm and peaceful.

As a matter of fact, when I'm going through situations with others who are going off on a tangent, I usually just stay calm and it drives them nuts. It's who I've become. I grew up in the Bronx so I experienced anger. I experienced rage. I experienced anger in my own home so I know what it's like. I choose to send love and peace as Pollyanna as that sounds.

"What we think determines what happens to us, so if we want to change our lives, we need to stretch our minds."

--- Wayne Dyer

Thanks for reading. I hope you got something out of this.

Copyright © 2012 Marion Licchiello

Marion Licchiello is a Writer, Self Empowerment Coach and an Intuitive Coach. She blogs for the Poughkeepsie Journal about getting motivated, staying positive, and getting fit.

Forward looking

Marlene

As long as you're going forward, looking ahead rather than behind, you can make it. Don't give up; there's so much more you can learn.

Positive Thoughts

Marlene

You've learned about the Power of Positive Thinking, how your thoughts affect you and your life. The same goes for The Power Of Negative Thinking. Be careful what you are focusing on. Always ask yourself this: Is this thought hurting or helping my life? Then... you will know what to do.

Right decision

Marlene

How many times have you made a decision that was right? A lot, of that I'm sure. Yet have you ever found yourself more attached to being right rather than doing the right thing?

Most people I know, including myself, have made decisions that weren't the best for the situation. We mess up. The difference is do you change your mind and go forward or stick with your decision even though you know it's not going to work out? Don't hang onto bad decisions - admit you're wrong and look for a new avenue.

Put one foot in front of the other

Marlene

One foot in front of the other, one step at a time, focus on where you want to go, not where you've been because today is all that matters. Have you started yet or are you ready to begin?

When you make the decision to go forward, everything changes. You've made a commitment and nothing will stop you from fulfilling your goal. Will there be setbacks? Good chance. Will there be amazing moments? Absolutely! Will it be worth it? Only you can decide.

Success Is A Matter Of Decision

(Note:Something to think about: How much do you really have control over? --- Marlene)

Since we are talking about our life and our future, inevitably and ultimately we have to make certain decisions. Decisions are about making the right choices (Nobody wants to make the wrong choices anyway). No matter how hard pressed we are, we have to know that we have choices. We just have to decide which course to take.

Whichever course we choose, there will be consequences waiting for us, be it good or be it bad. The choices we make today will color the spectrum of our life in the future.

We may dream of "flying to the moon and play with the stars" but before we could do that, we need to do certain things first. We certainly could not wait for the moon to fall on our lap. We need to set our dreams, choose the right vehicle to achieve our dreams, transform our dreams into tangible goals and last but not least, we need to act fast as if our life depends on it.

Do I consider myself idealistic? Hmmm ... I do not know.

Happy at Work

Marlene

Think about your work. Your autograph is on it. Are you happy to sign it knowing you did the best you could? Was the way you approached and executed the work filled with joy, confidence, integrity and compassion? If not, why not?

No matter what your position is, it's important. Everyone is part of the team and the way you do your part either helps or hurts the outcome. If it's not your dream job, act like it is until you find something else. Don't complain. Be a good example.

Customers World

Marlene

Learn about your customers' world. Stay on top of news that may affect their business. Find out what is important to them and help them achieve it. You never know how great the relationship can turn out to be.

Start one minute at a time.

Marlene

What can you do to make your next interaction positive? What can you do to improve a situation? Maybe it's a smile, a laugh, a word of encouragement. Perhaps it's holding someone's hand or giving them a hug.

There are so many ways to make a positive impact. Challenge yourself and see what you can come up with. Then tomorrow and the day after that, do it again. When we add repetition to an activity, over time, it becomes a natural event or as some say "a habit".

Don't worry

Of course everyone worries sometimes and for good reasons. Do you realize that worrying doesn't solve anything? Most of the time we worry about things that are out of our control. When we are concerned, we are more apt to take action or develop a plan and then put the plan into place.

Explore how you feel about worry and concern and if your response to each one is what you really want to do.

Happiness

Marlene

Today is where the good life lives - your life. Be Happy Now! Make the most of each moment, enjoying the people in your life and look forward to the future. When you stay in the moment,  you don't miss the small acts of kindness that come your way; and they are there, always.

Get ready for a fantastic day; it awaits you. Choose to accept it and share it with as many as you can.

An Act of Total Forgiveness

By Glen Michael Robinson

My name is Glen Michael Robinson and I've been employed for the past 23 years with the Marion County Sheriff's Office in Ocala, FL. I've never seen a mother respond to the death of her child the way this mother did.

Her son was killed on his third birthday when he chased a ball in the road in front of his house and was struck by a car. Her resolve to remain calm while everything around her was falling apart was an inspiration to me.

I asked her if she knew where the mother was. I'll never forget the calm expression on her face as she looked at me and told me, "I am the mother." She was a source of strength for me.

Courage

Marlene

Everyone will have their time to be courageous, many more than once. Look around at the people you know who have encountered situations that require their strength to make it through. Maybe it's been you, or someone in your family. Remember, you never really know what someone has faced. Open your heart today and recognize the courage in their souls.

Self-Respect and Appreciation Allows You To Offer Wonderful Gifts To Others

 
Once when I was a teenager, my father and I were standing in line to buy tickets for the circus. Finally, there was only one family between us and the ticket counter.
This family made a big impression on me. There were eight children, all probably under the age of 12. You could tell they didn't have a lot of money. Their clothes were not expensive, but they were clean.
The children were well-behaved, all of them standing in line, two-by- two behind their parents, holding hands. They were excitedly jabbering about the clowns, elephants and other acts they would see that night. One could sense they had never been to the circus before. It promised to be a highlight of their young lives.
The father and mother were at the head of the pack standing proud as could be. The mother was holding her husband's hand, looking up at him as if to say, "You're my knight in shining armor." He was smiling and basking in pride, looking at her as if to reply, "You got that right."
The ticket lady asked the father how many tickets he wanted. He proudly responded, "Please let me buy eight children's tickets and two adult tickets so I can take my family to the circus."
The ticket lady quoted the price. The man's wife let go of his hand, her head dropped, the man's lip began to quiver. The father leaned a little closer and asked, "How much did you say?"
The ticket lady again quoted the price. The man didn't have enough money.
How was he supposed to turn and tell his eight kids that he didn't have enough money to take them to the circus?
Seeing what was going on, my dad put his hand into his pocket, pulled out a $20 bill and dropped it on the ground. (We were not wealthy in any sense of the word!) My father reached down, picked up the bill, tapped the man on the shoulder and said, "Excuse me, sir, this fell out of your pocket."
The man knew what was going on. He wasn't begging for a handout but certainly appreciated the help in a desperate, heartbreaking, embarrassing situation. He looked straight into my dad's eyes, took my dad's hand in both of his, squeezed tightly onto the $20 bill, and with his lip quivering and a tear streaming down his cheek, he replied, "Thank you, thank you, sir. This really means a lot to me and my family."
My father and I went back to our car and drove home. We didn't go to the circus that night, but we didn't go without.
Anonymous --- Submitted by Jeff Pappas --- Texas
Read more at https://motivateus.com/stories/circus.htm#8DXTSdORKkGKyBoh.99

Think

Marlene

What do you think? I've known many people who never seemed to bloom in their thinking as they got older. They seemed to stay with what was familiar to them, rather than look at what could be and is possible.

When you don't learn from your experiences, you may find yourself repeating the same mistakes over and over again. Wisdom is taking the experience, looking for the lesson and changing your ways to one that will benefit you, not hurt you, again.

Acceptance

This morning I had to report for potential jury duty. I accepted the fact that I might be there all day. Once I did, I relaxed and enjoyed the moments leading up to our dismissal - a deal was struck.

Imagine how you would feel sitting there waiting. Would you have been agitated, upset, or angry? By accepting what is, you can move onto "Where and what do I need to do next?"

Hope your day is incredible and that acceptance for what is helps you move on to what could be!

Greatness of your Life

Your always adding to the greatness of your life. No matter who you meet, what decisions you make, you will always improve upon yourself and what you were in the past. Make each second of every day count, for it will never return. Live without regrets and always have a smile on your face. Every interaction you have adds to the masterpiece that exists in your very being.
#piccadillyinc

Possiblities are Endless

Marlene

Look at the good all around you; what was once impossible is now a reality. How does that happen? Work, faith, trust and a knowing that when you change your thoughts, you change your life. 

Everything is possible; tap into the incredible goodness that is waiting for you. It's there, ask anyone who has experienced success or a miracle.

Elderly are the link to History

Marlene

Yes the elderly do link us to history and... they have wisdom from years of experience that we don't have yet. What are a few pieces of insight they could share with you?

After reading several articles on this topic, I picked one by Nico Pitney. He writes about a gerontologist who interviewed 1500+ Elders for their advice on living and loving. Here are a few highlights and a link to the full article.

One of the biggest regrets of the very old was, I wish I hadn't spent so much time worrying.

If you lose yourself in the middle-age blur of work and kids, you really won't do your kids any good.

How you respond if your partner interrupts you while you're doing something is very diagnostic of how good the relationship's going to be.

Towards the end of life, what's really important to people is to be able to see how their life mattered, how it was meaningful, how there was a story to it that wraps up in a good way.

Strategies For Building Self-Esteem

While thinking about the Topic of the Week, I came across this wonderful article on Self-Esteem.

What is Self-Esteem?

Most people's thoughts and feelings about themselves fluctuate somewhat based on their daily experiences. The grade you get on an exam, how your friends treat you, ups and downs in a romantic relationship can all have a temporary impact on how you feel about yourself.

Your self-esteem, however, is something more fundamental than the normal ups and downs associated with situational changes. For people with good self-esteem, normal ups and downs may lead to temporary fluctuations in how they feel about themselves, but only to a limited extent. In contrast, for people with poor self-esteem, these ups and downs drastically impact the way they see themselves.

Okay?

Hard work

Marlene

Yes, the work was hard!  The results were impressive.  He continues to train so that he can maintain what he worked so hard to do.

You can do it too!  Just start and then continue one day at a time.  You will get there; have faith in yourself, believe in yourself and know you CAN do it!

 Be fearless today and take care!

Plan

Marlene

No plan?  No direction!  Would you attempt to build your house without a plan?  Of course not; unless you want to waste your time and money.  If what I suggested is true, why wouldn't you have a plan for your days?  Surely you want to be ready and set to go each day to accomplish what your heart desires.

If you make having a plan a part of your daily routine, it will be come a habit in no time at all.  This is YOUR future and you get to set the direction you want to take each and every day.

LEVELS OF REALITY

John Perry

If you think about it, reality comes in many levels, each level involving different kinds of things, having different kinds of properties. Perhaps most people would think of things like dirt at the bottom level, then us at the next level, and the sky at the highest level. But philosophers have a different, more abstract concept of levels of reality. Here are some examples:
• You and I---or at least our bodies--- along with tables and chairs and cities and towns and planets. This is what philosophers call the level of medium size objects. This level of reality is what most of our lives are concerned with. The sorts of things we can perceive with our senses, and so forth.
• Contrast that with a level called quantum reality. Objects like quarks that we can’t see, having properties like spin that we can barely make sense of.
• On the level just above quantum physics, we find electrons and atoms; then there’s the level of chemical facts, where you have chemicals and bonds; then the level of biology, where you have cells.
• Higher levels too, like maybe involving minds, societies, nations…
• And there are angels and God… and numbers for that matter. So we’ve got lots of levels!
Intuitively each level has a characteristic kind of object, characteristic kinds of properties and facts, and usually a different profession for people that study or work with it: quantum physicists, solid-state physicists, chemists, biologists, psychologists, sociologists. Nearer the top, mathematicians and theologians. And then, at least according to Aristotle, at the very top: philoophers. He put philosophers there because we think about Being --- that is, the whole shebang, and we try to figure out how the different levels are related. Most contemporary philosophers feel more in the middle than at the top. And their approach to the issue of levels of reality focuses on the topic of reduction.

We can set God and the angels aside; philosophers who believe in them aren’t likely to suppose they are reducible to something else, and those who don’t believe in them don’t worry about their reducibility either. We can also set numbers aside, since neither Ken nor I have any firm ideas about them. Then, physicalists like Ken and I both tend to be, think that the rest must be one big reality, physical reality. Facts about chemicals really are just facts about atoms and electrons, and they are really just facts about subatomic particles, or whatever else turns out to be at the bottom. And the same with biology and chemistry; psychology and biology; sociology and psychology.
The divisions are based on how humans interact with the different phenomena, the tools we use, the interests we have, and, of course, the National Science Foundation budgets involved. and Ultimately, metaphysically, philohically, there is just one reality, matter in motion --- or whatever quantum physicists replace matter with, or whatever they replace motion with.
One might think of this as depressing and mysterious. I don’t feel like a complex of quarks. Of course, there is another theory. It’s the competitor to Reductionism. It’s called Emergence. That’s the idea that each level in some way emerges from the one below, under certain conditions. And when emergence happens, truly new objects, properties, and facts are involved.
One might favor reductionism over emergence on the basis that in some cases, the reductions though not yet discovered,  are in principle to be had.  Biologists have known since Mendel that something, which they called `genes', are responsible for inherited characteristics. But for a long time, there were debates about whether genes could really be explained by physical and chemical properties. Many biologists thought that genes could never be fully explained just in terms of physics and chemistry.   They thought, in other words, genes were emergent, and not reducible. But with the discovery of DNA and the development of molecular biology, we know this isn't so. The structure that Watson and Crick discovered has allowed scientists to explain how genes work without appealing to anything but the principles and properties of physics and chemistry.
If everywhere some philosophers see emergence, scientists will eventually provide reductions, emergence will just be another idea in the dust-bin called the history of philosophy. But that grand result would require a biological understanding of consciousness and all the other mental phenomena. Should would-be physicalists like Ken and I really be so confident of that? Is it so obvious that it even makes sense?
Luckily we have an expert on all of this to help us think about it, Tim O’Connor, author of Theism and Ultimate Explanation.

Kindness

Marlene

Be the first one to offer kindness and care along with  compassion and love.  You'll never regret a day that you do and you just may change someone's life by providing them hope in humanity.

Try your best

Marlene

Do you try to do the best in all you do? Sometimes? What holds you back from doing it all the time? It really is amazing at what you can accomplish if you do it to the best of your ability.

What do you have to do if you want to improve on your results? Get more training and practice what you learned over and over again until it becomes second nature.

When I first started Motivateus.com I knew very little about how to code, how to use graphics programs, what SEO was all about, and a lot more. I could have given up and done something else, but I was determined to learn more, practice and improve. I believe, if you need to, you can do the same.

I'll never be the best at graphics but everyday I give the best to each picture or project. My hope is that today, if you haven't already, you will decide to give your best in all you do. Take care and have a great day!

Retraining Deeply Ingrained Habits of Mindlessness BY LEO BABAUTA

It’s hard enough to change a habit that you can physically see: going for a daily walk, sitting down to write, having a salad for lunch each day. These are easily seen, but can still be quite a challenge to instill in your life.

But what about habits of mindlessness, that you don’t even know you’re doing? Maybe you notice it later, maybe you never notice. How do you change those kinds of habits?
For myself, I have a number of mindless habits that I could focus on:

Judging other people

Eating mindlessly, especially when I’m talking to people or watching TV

Sitting too long and getting distracted online

Comparing myself to others or judging myself

Shutting down into self-concern when someone is unhappy with me

Hiding things from others because I’m ashamed or afraid for them to know

Of course, these are just a handful that stand out. They’re deeply ingrained, because I’ve had them since childhood.
They are not a reason to beat myself up, or judge myself. There is nothing wrong with me for having these habits. And yet I can see how they’re unhelpful to my happiness, to my relationships, to the work I want to do in the world.
So it would be helpful to retrain these mindless habits.
How do we go about that?

What to Know About Changing Mindless Habits

Before we start, it’s important to know that there are two big obstacles to changing these kinds of habits:

They are deeply ingrained. You’ve been doing them for years — reinforcing them for years — and so you won’t just be able to flip a switch and change them in a day or a week. It could take months to retrain, and in some cases, longer — depending on how much focus you give this retraining, and how consistent you’re able to be.

They are unconscious. If you don’t know you’re doing it, you can’t retrain it. It just keeps happening without you being able to do it. Without awareness, you’re powerless.

So it will likely be a messy process, with starts and stops, lots of “failures” that aren’t really failures if you’re using them to learn and grow your awareness. It can get discouraging, unless you look at every failure in this way, as a necessary step to becoming more aware, a necessary stepping stone to crossing this river.

A Retraining Method for Mindless Habits

With the above ideas in mind, here’s how we might retrain these mindless habits:

Focus on just one habit. Look at my list of mindless habits above — these all seem like great candidates to take on immediately. So why not do them all at once, right? But it’s hard enough to be aware of just one of these habits — trying to be aware of several habits at once is like trying to pay attention to 5 televisions at once. I’d say it’s impossible. Pick just one — you can get to all of them eventually.

Recognize the habit’s effects on you. Before you get started, reflect on how this habit affects you. Maybe just watch it for a few days and see how it affects your happiness, relationships, and the meaningful work you’re doing in the world. Start to get very clear on exactly what this habit does to your life, and all of the ripples it has on all parts of your life. Then get clear that you don’t want to keep doing this to yourself and others around you. You can’t afford it.

Create a practice container to give it focus and create awareness. With focus on one habit and clarity about what it does, you can now set up your retraining practice dojo. Here’s the key: create a space where you become as aware as possible of the habit. For example, if I wanted to work on the “being judgmental of others” habit, I might have a practice hour each day where I walk around in public looking at people and noticing when I have the tendency to judge them. I’m actively watching for the habit. Maybe it’s just 30 minutes, or 5 minutes, depending on the habit. But it has a defined start and end, and I’m very deliberately practicing during this time. I can slowly expand it over time, or have multiple practice sessions a day, but it shouldn’t be all day long. Sometimes I might shrink it. The key is to try to be as aware as possible during this practice container. 

Imagine an alternative habit that would be more helpful. What would be a more helpful habit to do instead? For example, instead of judging people, I might try to look at them with compassionate eyes. Instead of eating mindlessly, I might try to fully savor each bite, pausing in between to ask if taking another bite would be a loving act or just mindless satisfying of cravings. Instead of sitting too long, I might have focused work sessions for 15 minutes, getting up and exercising or stretching in between. Instead of comparing myself or judging myself, I might see myself with loving eyes. Instead of shutting down when someone is unhappy with me, I might try to see their pain and what they’re going through. Instead of hiding things from others, I might be open and vulnerable about what I’ve been hiding. These are only examples — take a little time to imagine the habit you’d rather have.

When you notice yourself doing the old habit, practice the new one instead. This one is obvious — during your practice session, if you notice yourself starting to do the old habit, do the new one instead, as deliberately and consciously as you can. Every single time, as consistently as possible. If you don’t do it consistently, just notice when you don’t, just increase awareness.

Repeat many times. This one is obvious too — repeat it often, until it becomes easier and more natural and more and more automatic. Reinforce each time you do it by giving yourself a mental pat on the back — feeling good about this success, even if it’s not perfect. Take a moment to feel grateful for your effort.

Then learn to do the new habit earlier. With some practice, you can learn to do the new habit much earlier in the process. For example, instead of judging someone and then switching to seeing them with compassion … I might look at someone and immediately try to see them with compassion, as soon as I see them. This takes a lot of awareness and practice, but it gets easier with time. You’re cutting out the old habit completely, so that the new one gets reinforced.

Repeat many more times. Again, repeat this method as many times as it takes to become more and more automatic. You might add additional practice sessions. You can even try to catch yourself outside of the practice sessions, until it becomes really easy to be aware of this during the day.

Important: see every mistake as a stepping stone to greater awareness. Remember that you’re not going to be perfect at this. It’s going to be messy. The old habit has been strengthened over years. Develop patience with yourself, understanding, compassion. Learn to encourage yourself when things are hard. And see every failure as information to use to get better and better.

This is the method. It works, I promise — I’ve changed some difficult habits this way, even if it took me longer than I’d care to admit. I’m still working with this method, in spurts and starts, in a very messy way. But shift happens. It can for you as well!

POSTED: THURSDAY, AUGUST 15, 2019

PREVIOUS POST: THE PRACTICE OF LISTENING TO FIND PURPOSE

Thought

Thought is like a river. It flows from each of us into one huge collective force. It's strengths has superiority to any of man's inventions. It has unseen greatness as well as magnificent beauty. It's power lies within each of us. We just have to learn how to magnify its significance. 

#piccadillyinc 

Curiosity

Curiosity is what leads us to knowledge. Knowledge is a powerful asset. When you are curious, you are creating, when you are creating are thinking. So in a sense curiosity leads to thought.

#piccadillyinc 

Life of a Salesman

Marlene

Everybody is in sales whether you know it or not. Think about your life and all the people in it. Every day you create, strengthen or diminish your relationships by how you interact with others.

Be the one who encourages, compliments and helps someone today. They're not going to get a fat head because of what you say to them. They will think you're pretty terrific and will enjoy the experience.

The Courageous Self-Discipline Challenge

BY LEO BABAUTA

Who among us doesn’t procrastinate? Who comes up with a wonderfully prioritized plan for the day and sticks to it, without putting off the hard stuff and running to distraction or busywork or comfort?
There may be some of you out there who are incredibly disciplined, but I’d say it’s fairly uncommon.
Most of us have trouble with distractions, with doing busywork instead of important work, with going to our comforts like TV, shopping, social media, with procrastination and putting off good habits.
If you recognize yourself in that description, I invite you to join my Courageous Self-Discipline Challenge for August.
I’ll be holding the challenge (starting Monday) in my Sea Change Program, where more than a thousand people will be doing it together, supporting each other.
How will the challenge work? You’ll commit to the challenge publicly (within the Sea Change community), and then do some daily challenges that will have different focuses each week. There will be weekly check-ins to give you accountability, and a live video webinar.
Here are the weekly focuses:

Week 1: Set commitment & intentions, and start.

Week 2: Deepen commitment & focus.

Week 3: Play with your pattern.

Week 4: Find joy in the discipline.

Each week, there will be an article talking about the weekly focus, with instructions for how to do that week’s focus.
You can ask questions in our Sea Change community, and ask me a question directly in the live video webinar.

Negative verses Positive

People focus on the negative. It is in the media. Negativity sells, however positivity should sell more. Don't you as an individual like to be happy. So let's have an experiment, let's see how long you can stay in a good mood and spread the joy around. yeremiah@aol.com Yeremiah Hardt

Making Waves

We get so caught up in making a difference that we forget what we are fighting for. Order, structure and freedom are all well and good, however we need to organize our order and make our structure have stability or it will falter. If you falter to much in life you can't succeed in accomplishing your highest aspirations. When you focus your energies and become one with your internal being you can accomplish anything you set your mind on. So don't just drudge through life lead by an expressively willed individual, known as yourself. You can achieve anything all you have to do is try. yeremiah@aol.com Yeremiah Hardt

Price

Marlene 

There are things in life you cannot buy – there is no price to pay – qualities of a person you will have a relationship with. Which ones mean the most to you?

Read more at https://motivateus.com/quote-of-the-day/3-qualities-you-cannot-buy/#U6ZH165aOKP4FxZe.99

The Story Of Life

Recently "Life" presented a gift to me; a lesson to teach me about my arrogance. I failed to see the beauty in each day, the value of a friend.... and more.

What lessons will be shared that can have an impact on your life too?

Read more of The Story Of Life.

Respect

Respect is a huge word with many different meanings.  Most of us know what disrespect feels like but can't seem to define respect so I found this article on Entrepreneur.com that I think helps:  Here are 7 Qualities of People Who Are Highly Respected:

Be polite. Always be polite to everyone you meet during the day, from your family members to your co-workers, to the checkout person at the grocery store.

Act respectfully.

Listen well.

Be helpful.

Don't make excuses.

Let go of anger.

Be willing to change.

Read a bit more:
What Is Respect?

The Greatest Gift A Human Can Possess

Marlene

You know you have gifts and talents, some that others don't have. But there is a gift all of us has - do we use it to its full potential?

Writer Michael Levy shares a beautiful little story to emphasize this power and what the effects can be. Read more about The Wizard's Secret Power. 

Don't let annoyances get you down?

Do you let little annoyances get you down, Yeremiah? It's been called "Sweating the Small Stuff" and sometimes we focus and hang on to these problems and forget what our goal is.

As you get ready for the weekend, reflect a bit and ask yourself is this true for me? If so, you can change that; it's within your power.

 

LIKE A BOX OF CHOCOLATES-A SELF PORTRAIT

by Annette Hall - March 2001

I guess Forrest Gump's mom was right, "Life is like a box of chocolates, you are not sure what you are going to get." In a very pure sense physically and emotionally my ability level can change from one moment to the next. Sometimes I'm able to walk without any noticable limitations. At other times, I have to grope to get from one destination to another, use my walker to get around, or walk like a toddler or a monster. My speech is similarly fluctuating. Sometimes my voice is normal. At other times it is mechanical or robotic. I had, on several occasions, preface my calls, "Please don't hang up, I am not a machine." I have learned to do this, after having people hang up on me because they thought I was a tape or someone playing a joke on them. My voice also changes from being very juvenile, to broken speech (lacking noun-verb agreement articles or prepositional phrases), to sounding like I am Jamaican or Latino. I stutter so much at times, I sound like Porky Pig. Sometimes I sound like one of the Little Rascals. I'm like a box of chocolates, you don't know who your gonna get.

My personality or rather emotions also changes. Though my ability to reason and understand is in tact, at all times, the way I interact fluctuates. The maturity level goes from quite innocent to that of a child during "tender years" to that of a mature adult. During the former, I lack tackfulness and tend to say what I think (yet not with intent to harm). My accountability to others is like that of a child to parent. In fact, when I do things for which I know there is likely to be some negative feedback, I'll say something like "I'm going to be on punishment" or "I'm in trouble." Also my sensitivity level changes. When my voice is juvenile, I tend to have a toddler's form of behavioral responses. For example, I am subject to cry at the drop of a hat for something like being moderately corrected(scolded). Also just watching something on television (or in actuality) where there is sudden excitement, where someone gets hurt (even if comical)I will start to tremor, cry, my arms will move like the robot in  "Lost in Space" when he says "Danger, Danger, Will Robinson!!"

My life is like a box of chocolates, you don't know who you are going to get.

#piccadillyinc

Don't feel like a failure...

Marlene

Do you take failure personally? Do you hang on to the feelings it brought for too long a time?

 What if you looked at failure a completely different way? As an experience?Nothing lasts forever, not success and not failure. Everyone hits bumps in the road and sometimes the bumps are huge.

That's okay - we live and we learn from everything. Try not to criticize yourself too much when you fail; they say the more times you fail, the closer you get to success.

Take back your life

Marlene

Are you ready to take your life to a new level?  Accept that your decisions, based on your knowledge and attitude, direct your life.

Of course you may have circumstances that pose a challenge - we all do - yet we have to decide WHAT to do next.

When you blame others or circumstances all the time for how your life is working out, you give up your power.  Is that really what you want?

Just Two Tickets To Indy

By Rick Phillips

"The first time you accept 'good' is the last time you will see excellence."
--- John Ulmo

"We had talked about the possibility and it's ramifications for weeks as test after test failed to confirm or refute the diagnosis. But now we sat in my office crushed by the reality that it was true; John had ALS, Lou Gehrigs's disease. The insidious affliction strikes the muscular system of its victim, eventually draining the body of all strength to support even breathing and a beating heart.

John had been my business partner, my friend and my mentor for many years. He was the kind of friend who pushed you beyond what you thought you could do. John always saw you not for what you are but for what he thought you could be, and then he never let you settle for anything less. One time I objected to his expectations and he responded patiently, "Rick, I wouldn't be much of a friend if I let you settle for what you think is your best."

We sat in the office crying and holding hands like two adolescent children, realizing that the crippling death sentence would not allow John to live for more that two years. Finally, I asked him to think about the one thing he had always dreamed about doing, something that he had not done yet. Was there some event he would like to see with Bonnie, his loving partner? Would it be the running of the bulls in Spain or would he want to see the Great Wall of China, the Parthenon or the Wailing Wall?

 

His response was actually predictable. John was a lifelong car-racing enthusiast; he had always wanted to go to the Indianapolis 500. Unfortunately, it seemed that the tickets for the event were long tied up in corporate commitments or with fans that handed their seats down through the family as a legacy.

 

However, I confidently told John it would be no problem.

 

Really? How is that going to happen?   Let's continue:

https://motivateus.com/stories/tickets-to-Indy.htm

Who Will Decide Your Destiny?

By Aeryk Resch

Is The Outcome Already Written?

Do we all walk our own set, predetermined path in life?

Has everything that's happened to us so far in this life happened as it should?

Do our conscious choices mean anything or does it matter because the outcome is already written in the stars?

Is it?

Are there truly infinite possibilities or does everything we do, every choice we make, lead to one inevitable outcome?

Has the future already been written and we're simply walking the Yellowbrick road or is "Destiny" something else entirely?

Is it our destiny to forge our own ending?

Are we playing an open-ended game and all of our choices influencing an outcome unwritten and unheard-of?

Are we meant to blaze our own trail through the old, dried brush of monotony?

Do each of us have the ability to burn brighter than any of our predecessors?

I believe we do. But then what is it that so often stops us from doing just that?

Hmmm? I wonder what it is.  Let's continue:

https://motivateus.com/stories/who-will-decide-your-destiny.htm

Communication

Marlene

Talk to the people you love like they are the most valuable people on earth. They love you too and you can help make their day miserable or motivating by what you say and how you treat them.

Being Thankful

Marlene

Giving thanks is a beautiful character trait, when sincerely expressed.  If you don't feel thankful for what you have, time to start new habits that include thankfulness.  

It has been said that if you aren't thankful for what you have, for the people in your life, then why would you think you would be thankful for something else?

Be thankful for your life, the food you get to eat, the friendships you have cultivated, the beauty of the morning and so much more.  

Breathe

Marlene

When things get tough, take a breath, and remember you have everything you need right inside of you.  Be good to yourself today!

The Seed

by Rich Barnes

As I walk along the sidewalk of East Main Rd. in Newport RI, I cannot help but notice the annuals starting to pop up through the ground, and think to myself how this flower is actually a metaphor for life in general.

Think about it for a second.

A seed of a flower can sit on a shelf in a hardware store or a local five and dime and lay in it's pouch for years... sitting in a package without any life in it, alone with many of his seed friends waiting for that right opportunity to show it's potential.

When that seed gets planted in the ground, a metamorphosis takes place. It starts to germinate and open... it starts to spread open and against all odds. This tiny little seed pushes through what seems like tons and tons of dirt to break through the ground to grow.

You see, once that seed gets in the right environment and in the right soil with water and sunlight, that seed will flourish and show it's potential that once lay dormant and grow into a beautiful flower.

It is the same thing with people...

How so? Let's read more:

https://motivateus.com/stories/growing-stronger-each-day.htm

 

Self-confidence

Marlene

May I suggest that you look for ways to improve your self-confidence today.  Do a little research and try some of the ideas that seem to work for others.  Every person is different, of course, as far as their level of self-confidence.

If you need more ideas after you look, please let me know.

Have a great day enjoying love and unexpected blessings.

Act as if....

Marlene

Act as if...  as if you already have it.  Without practice, it's hard to maintain.  With enough practice, it will become a habit if that is what you want.  

Lessons of Life

Marlene

Life and lessons go hand in hand.  There is always something we have to learn whether we want to or not.  How you respond, how you look at these events will determine whether the lessons are accepted or not.  

If you choose to run, rather than look them in the eye, they make surface again and again.  If you choose to stand firm, to stand amazed at the opportunity for growth provided, you may see that something better is waiting for you.

Will it always be easy?  No.  Can you do it?  Yes... yes you can.  So have a great day and take care!

Don't hold a Grudge

Life is too short to hold a grudge,
We should forgive,
Forgiveness is the key,
To a happy future.
Through forgiveness you open yourself up to the harmonies and majesties life has to offer.

Talking out loud:

Marlene
Today I want to remember all of the brave people who work to keep us safe; those who run towards the dangerous situation and keep trying, no matter what.  These are heroes in my eyes.  They are the ones who do the jobs we can't or won't.  

The message is simple - prepare, practice, and don't quit.

Wisdom

Wisdom has sections. You can be of the utmost Intelligence in one area of your life, and yet lack the simple commonalities in another.

#piccadillyinc

You Choose

by Sam Vijay Kumar

How is your work going? 

It was the question an associate of mine asked me. I must also admit that it was not a pleasant question. I am sure we encounter this question so many times that we dare not avoid thinking a little about our work. Personally I have hated this question so much that I have often become defensive or angry when people asked about my work.

The other day I was so much into thinking about my work and how I can better it, that I decided that I needed to calm myself down to get some insights if not solutions to my quest. So off I went and I found myself sitting in the prayer hall of our institution, thinking about how to improve my working habit. I must admit that I asked divine guidance. And it was then that some thoughts seem to have floated into my mind.

Right before we go further, shall we remind ourselves that there is always some work for everybody; many a time we look at our work as a dull, jaded chore that we have to chug on with. We think of work as something that we have to bear, as if a punishment. We look at it the way a prisoner looks at the grills in the prison window.

When will I stop working?

When will the clock strike five?

When will the boss leave?

When we wake up in the morning, we are not enthused by the thought of going to office. We dread the mails, deadlines are dread-lines for many and that results in a decreased performance. Our graph tilts downwards and then we somehow try to make ourselves invisible so we don’t need to answer any uncomfortable questions.

We start avoiding the lift. We stop going to the coffee corner when most of our colleagues are going. We try to take the back entrance. Oh, the pain of not liking one's job!

This spills over into our mental attitudes, capabilities and performance. We are afraid to pose out our ideas. We are afraid to ask for a pay raise. We can't look into the eyes of our boss and speak. We think we will doomed if we lose this job. We don't want to believe that there is a whole world out there ready to welcome us if required.

And how do I know? I have gone through all of this.

What are the obstacles?  Let's read more:

https://motivateus.com/stories/how-is-your-work-going.htm

Renewal of Life

Marlene

Try and remember this as you go through your day, please.  We are not guaranteed unlimited time here on earth.  Be your best self today, right now.  Be kind, when you really don't feel like it.  Be strong, when you think you can't.  Be loving when others are not loving towards you.  Be hopeful and optimistic because what is the alternative?  Decide to be the person you always wanted to become.  Do it now.

Talking out loud:

Marlene
Remember you are not alone here.  Everyone will have their heart broken, more than once.  Sometimes your heart breaks for reasons other than romantic ones and hurts equally as much.  You can feel sorry for yourself, for a time, but not as a way of life.

Pick yourself up, dust off and get going again.  Live in today!  Get ready for great and wonderful things to happen.  If you don't show up, you may miss the opportunity intended for you.

Talking out loud

Marlene
You usually get what you focus on, right?  So why not choose to focus on good things happening?  It's your choice, Yeremiah; I can't imagine you choosing negativity.  There's no where to go with that kind of thinking.  Expect joy, happiness, kindness and love to start your day.  Get up and say I feel great, I wonder what wonderful things will happen today?

I've done this for years and it truly makes a difference in my life.  If you don't have something like this to say each morning, develop your own saying that resonates with you.  Speak your words out loud and you provide energy to them.  Try it for a week and then let me know what happens.

Take a Stand

Marlene

Sometimes you just need to take a stand, especially for those who cannot stand up for themselves.  Be their voice, be their champion, be the one who cares and does something positive to affect their lives. 

Maybe it's a charity that you give time to, maybe it's the older person who lives in your neighborhood that seems alone and needs some help.  We all know of people and situations that need some attention. 

Never give up

You can do this.  Don't give up yet - success could be right around the corner.  It's happened before and will happen again.  Be persistent, be tenacious, be the one who stays when others leave.

Customer relations

Are you mostly talking about you when with a customer?  If so, it might not be the best idea.  People like to talk about themselves, so let the customer do that.  Ask questions to get them to open up a bit.  

Since you are not buying anything, the focus shouldn't be on you.  Remember customers love to buy but hate to be sold. So make the customer the focal point; make their needs and wants first on the list; help them discover if there are any objections to finalizing the sale - answer their concerns and let them buy.

Here's to you today - show your customers some love and let them win because if you help them get what they want, you will get what you want too.

Question: How can we improve our emotional intelligence?

The Single Most Important Thing You Can Do to Build Emotional Intelligence

by Jennifer Guttman, PsyD Clinical Psychology.

The most important factor in attempting to cultivate emotional intelligence is the importance of listening and not talking. When people feel like they are having difficulty with a social skill, their insecurities bring on talking. So, when people are insecure about something, they tend to talk a lot. The most important thing when you're trying to learn a skill often is to just be quiet. Listening is a vital part of trying to learn about emotional intelligence.

When you're in a social situation, listening to what people are saying in order to understand their emotional experience helps develop a sense of compassion and empathy. This will allow you to better understand what it would be like to be in their shoes. A key part of emotional intelligence is being better able to understand life from their experience, as opposed to making assumptions that their experience is the same as your experience. None of our experiences are the same.

Developing emotional intelligence is developing more breadth of a word bank or a mood. A lot of people struggle with having enough words to describe moods. They have a limited word bank. If you're listening carefully enough, that might help develop a broader word bank to describe mood states. The broader the word bank you have to describe a mood, the more effective you will become in being able to ask targeted questions to people about how they feel. Listen, then move to mindful questions about how a person may be feeling.

It's important not to overwhelm people with questions, because people don't respond well to that. Instead, be mindful about the questions you ask by trying to relate to how they may be feeling. Try pulling the words you use in conversation from a bank of words that you've developed over time from listening.

Let's continue to the rest of the article:

https://www.inc.com/quora/the-single-most-important-thing-you-can-do-to-build-emotional-intelligence.html

Talking out loud

Marlene
We all have fears, Yeremiah, and they can hold you back or propel you forward.  You can be a mountain climber or stay on level ground.  The view is quite different from both perspectives.  Ask yourself, "Which one do I need to see right now?"

Once you decide, take a deep breath, eyes facing forward and GO!  You will know your next step after the first one.

Stop criticizing

Marlene

The same way you don't want others to tell you what to do or criticize you for what you think or believe, don't do it to them.  Bring positive words and feelings to everyone and every situation.  Be the one who leads, in an optimistic good way.

The Power of Now

Marlene

If not today, the when?  We all know today is where we live.  Yesterday is gone and we don't know for sure about tomorrow.  Make the decision to live large today.  Be as productive as you can.  Go to bed knowing you did your best and you can sleep in peace.

Do You Solve Problems Or Create Them?

By Sam Vijay Kumar

Are You A Solution Supplier?

Life is filled with lots of fun. It comes with its share of struggles as well. Problems are an integral part of our lives. Problems are not bad always. Problems reshuffle our usual thought patterns and revamp our approach by getting us to think creatively so that we get to some resourceful results.

Hence, would it be discreet on our part to detest problems as if they were germs? And for that matter it is even proven scientifically that some germs (probiotics) are good for us. Problems come in many forms: career, habits, destructive thought patterns etc., and not in a few cases they take the form of humans.

Now, a significant proportion of problems in our life are caused by people; people who have a part-time job creating problems (have you met someone who does it full time? Ha ha ha! ). Simply put, they are 'Problem People'. They create... evolve... refurbish... and give life to problems.

You can meet such kinds of people anywhere...  in our workplace, family, in traffic, the shopping mall or any other place of our interaction. And this one aspect, small as it seems to be, constitutes a noteworthy part of problems that we face. They bring petty, trivial, inconsequential issues and make problems out of it. It might be connecting your breakfast, your car, electricity bill, official document, shopping list, and so on.

Now that need not daunt us, if we are willing to be constructive and prepared to work on this, regardless of all the stops and weariness that we would encounter in the course. We have just one expense for such a project - our sweat; I mean our relentless effort.

Now let us get to the issue at hand:

Knowing why problem people are the way they are.

Let's continue to the rest of the article:

https://motivateus.com/stories/solution-provider.htm

Teams Win With Character, Not Characters

By Bill E. Williams

What Is Football Really About? (Or All Types Of Teams)

"It amazes me that so many coaches think this great game of football is about x's and o's."
--- Coach Bill E. Williams

CHARACTER - the mental and ethical traits marking a group or an individual

TRAIT - a specific quality of a person

QUALITY - the degree of excellence

ETHICS - a set of moral principles or values

VALUES - something that is important to an individual

MORALS - principles of right and wrong

PRINCIPLES - a code of conduct

Teams win with character not characters. Character is the mental or ethical traits that mark an individual or a group. A trait is a Quality of a group or an individual and ethics are moral sets of principles or values. A principle is an individual's code of conduct. A value is something that is important to an individual.

To have character, as individuals and as a team, one must first have a code of conduct (principles). This code of conduct is the standard of behavior that individuals and teams hold themselves and teammates accountable for (morals). This code of conduct is something that becomes important to the individual and the team (values).

What else is important? Let's continue to the rest of the article:

https://motivateus.com/stories/youwin.htm

Focus

Marlene

When you focus on thoughts about things you can't control or the things you fear, what happens? You get stressed, depressed and find yourself not in a good place mentally.  Since you can't control them, why let them get the best of you? 

Who is in charge?  YOU are!

Yes, you can take charge of your thoughts and what you are focusing on.  Will everything turn out exactly as planned?  Probably not.  Will you have a better chance of success?  I say yes, and so have a lot of other people.

If you are not doing it yet, remind yourself each day that you will become more and more aware of what you are thinking about.  Once you know, then decide which thoughts you want to give your full attention to.

Here's to you!  You can do this.  Just be sure to laugh a little today and enjoy the moments!

You Are The Greatest Miracle

By Prem P. Guragain

Never, Never, Never, Give Up

Muhammad Yunus, a Bangladeshi Banker, an Economist, founder of Grameen Bank and the Nobel Peace Prize winner in 2006, said:

"Each of us has much more hidden inside us than we have had a chance to explore. Unless we create an environment that enables us to discover the limits of our potential, we will never know what we have inside of us."

Since the day a baby is born, it is the responsibility of the parents to mold the character and future of that child. No matter how we try to hide our behavior and activity at home, children can sense it; either it is positive or negative.

The biographies of great human beings, who contributed something in a positive way, have always been inspiration to many of us. By reading their trials and tribulations, we can all learn 'what needs to be followed' and 'what needs to be eliminated'.

When one is determined and focused to accomplish something worthwhile, many obstacles and challenges will arise on the way. As long as the goal is crystal clear and mind is determined to get it done, nothing can stop him or her.

Let's continue to the rest of the article:

https://motivateus.com/stories/you-are-the-miracle.htm

Change and acceptance

You change on a daily basis, whether you realize it or not.  Others may say hey, you've changed and they're right.  Guess what?  They have changed too.  Remember no one knows you better than you know yourself.  Change is and can be your friend.  Try embracing change rather than wishing things were the way they use to be.  Accept what is going on today and move forward with a smile.

Competition

Marlene

Your biggest competition this week is YOU!  Work to be better than you were yesterday.  You will be the only one who will be able to tell if you're making progress.  Don't give up if the going seems tough.  Keep working your plan and improving each day.  One tiny step each day will equal measurable movement over time.

The Time Has Come - Your Time Is Now

By Steve Maraboli

It's Your Season

Hope you all had a great summer. The weekend that symbolizes the end of summer has passed. Kids are going back to school. College students are in their dorms. Teachers and professors are back in the classrooms. People everywhere are switching from the summer mindset to the "back to work" state of mind.

The summer season begins to make its elegant exit as the fall greets us with its refreshing breezes. Change is in the air... What about you? Are you going to allow the world around you to change while you remain stagnant? Why not let this season of change be YOUR season?

Let this be the time when the fresh fall breeze carries a tune of change that makes your heart dance! It's YOUR season! You have been waiting to break free and release your greatest self. Let this be your season.

What does Steve mean?  Let's continue reading:

https://motivateus.com/stories/its-your-season.htm

Being Uncomfotable

Would you agree, Yeremiah, that if you only attempted to do comfortable things that you wouldn't be adequately prepared when the "uncomfortable" showed up?

Life is about experiencing everything you can - the good and the bad, the delightful and the sad - you know what I am talking about. Of course we all want life to move along smoothly with very few ripples.

May I ask you how do you deal with pain/sorrow/or anything uncomfortable if you never experienced it before? 

It may feel like a weight on your shoulders or on your life.  You can succumb to the pressure or you can try to use the experience to lift yourself up and out of it.  The more times you lift, the stronger you become.  By doing so , you are constantly preparing yourself to handle each and every situation the best you can.​​​​​​​

Here's to you today! Enjoy the ride!

Belief

According to Wikipedia, a Belief is the state of mind in which a person thinks something to be the case with or without there being empirical evidence to prove that something is the case with factual certainty.

We believe a lot of things, many are true and some are not. And belief has been responsible for many occurrences that we cannot explain otherwise. I've learned that everything is possible, whether I will ever see it or not.

Energy

Today, Yeremiah, think of what could be if you put 20% more energy into your goal.  You can do it, and then add another 20% of extra effort.  You've done this before when you have accomplished most anything.  Don't forget to enjoy the ride while doing this.  You don't have to be so serious, keep your sense of humor and be easy on yourself and others along the way.  

Learning Life's Lessons

Sent In by George Wachirah

Nudge The Balance

A 91-year-old woman died after living a very long dignified life. When she met God, she asked Him something that had really bothered her for a very long time. "If Man was created in God's image, and if all men are created equal, why do people treat each other so badly?"

God replied that each person who enters our life has a unique lesson to teach us. It is only through these lessons that we learn about life, people and our relationships with God. This confused the woman, so God began to explain:

"When someone lies to you, it teaches you that things are not always what they seem. The truth is often far beneath the surface. Look beyond the masks people wear if you want to know what is in their hearts. Remove your own masks to let people know who you really are.

When someone steals from you, it teaches you that nothing is forever. Always appreciate what you have. You never know when you might lose it. Never take your friends or family for granted because today, and sometimes only this very moment, is the only guarantee you may have.

Read more lessons at https://motivateus.com/stories/balance-in-life.htm