MOTIVATIONAL & INSPIRING THOUGHTS & WORDS

[Debelli]

This MOTIVATIONAL & INSPIRING BOARD is full of wonderful words and thoughts. Read them when you need words of encouragment, words to get you through your day. :)

Please feel free to post any quotes, words of inspiration, etc. you feel would benefit the board.

Please give credit where credit is due if you know the author :D

HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY!

[Debelli]

It's Been A Good Year

Look at how far you've come in the last year. And think of how far you can go. Look at all the abundance with which you've been blessed. And think of what you can accomplish with it.

Consider all that you have learned. And think of what you can do with your knowledge and experience. Look at all the people you've come to know. And think of the richness and possibilities that they have added to your life. Reflect on the ones you love, and think of the strength they give you.

No matter what has happened, it's been a good year. You've lived and loved and learned and experienced. Though the lessons may often have been sad, you've lived through the pain, and you've found new joys. Your spirit has soared and your mind has met challenges.

Many things are different than they were last year. Yet you've survived the changes, and made the best of them. You've found strength and purpose in the living. You're alive and living and ready to move forward, full of boundless possibilities.

Look at how far you've already come. And think of how far you can go.

-- Ralph Marston

[Debelli]

Time

Money can be saved for later. And money that is wasted can be earned back. But time must be used as it comes, for once a moment is past it will never come again.

You have exactly one chance to make the best of today. And that opportunity is upon you right now. The time you spend today can bring a magnificent and lasting return, or it can bring a lifetime of regret.

Today can never be replaced. It is yours to use right now. You cannot save it for later, but you can turn it into an achievement that will continue to bring value long into the future. Time can be priceless or it can be worthless, depending on what you do with it.

This very day is a vein of the purest gold, waiting to be mined. Your efforts will make that treasure a reality.

[Debelli]

PLANT A GARDEN OF SUCCESS!


Plant 5 rows of peas:

Patience
Perseverance
Preparation
Planning
Positiveness

Include 3 rows of squash:

Squash negativity
Squash dieting
Squash deprivation

Add 5 rows of lettuce:

Let us be positive

Let us take responsibility
Let us be in control
Let us reward our accomplishments
Let us be empowered

No garden is complete without turnips:

Turn up with a positive attitude
Turn up with a smile
Turn up with new ideas
Turn up with real determination
Turn up with success

MAY YOUR GARDEN FLOURISH!!!

[Debelli]

All of these came from our July 24th board.


"As I journey through life, more and more I learn that accepting myself and my idiosyncrasies - laughing at myself for my ways - gets me a lot further than picking on myself and trying to make myself perfect. Maybe that's really what it's all about - absolute loving, joyous, nurturing self-acceptance."


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"Believe in yourself, open your heart, have faith, celebrate all that is you, trust in your dreams and the Magic will Happen."

***********

Ask yourself what you are doing today is
getting you closer to where you want to be
tomorrow.

***********

"Remember one of the universal laws: All things are as they should be in this moment. Let go of the past and accept the gift of the future."



[This message has been edited by Debelli (edited 12-30-2000).]

[Debelli]

JUST ONE POUND


Hello! Do you know me?

If you don't, you should. I'm ONE POUND OF FAT and I'm the happiest pound of fat that you would ever want to meet!

Want to know why????

It's because no one ever wants to lose me!! After all, 'm ONLY ONE POUND, just ONE POUND. Everyone wants to lose 3 or 5 or even 15 pounds, but never ONLY ONE. So,
I just stick around and happily keep you fat.

Then, I am free to add to myself, ever so slyly, so that you never seem to notice. That is, until I've grown to 10, 20 or even ore pounds in weight....

YES...it's fun being ONLY ONE POUND of fat...left to do just as I please.

So, when you weigh in, go ahead...just keep right on saying "Oh, I only lost ONE POUND!" (As if THAT were so terrible).

For, you see, if you do this, you'll encourage others to hang around me because they'll think I'm not worth losing. And I LOVE being around you...your arms, your
legs, your chin, your hips and every part of you.

HAPPY DAYS!! After all, I'm ONLY ONE POUND OF FAT.

[Debelli]

Dream what you want to dream;
go where you want to go;
be what you want to be, because you have only one life and one chance to do all the things you want to do.

***********

We don't have to do it any better than we can - ever. Do our best for the moment, then let it go. If we have to redo it, we can do our best in another moment, later.
We can never do more or better than we are able to do at the moment. We punish ourselves and make ourselves feel crazy by expecting more than our reasonable best for now.
Striving for excellence is a positive quality.
Striving for perfection is self-defeating. There are days when our best is less than we hoped for. Let those times go. Start over tomorrow. Work things through, until our best becomes better.
There is a time for constructive criticism, but it that's all we give ourselves, we'll give up.
Empowering and complimenting ourselves will not make us lazy. It will nurture us and enable us to give, do, and be out best.

[Debelli]

You are the person who has to decide. Whether you'll do it or toss it aside;
You are the person who makes up your mind. Whether you'll lead or will linger behind. Whether you'll try for the goal that's afar. Or just be contented to stay where you are.

**********

1. As much as my friends and family love me no one can do this for me! If I want to lose weight it is up to me! Friends and family can offer support but in the final decision to eat poorly or not - I HOLD THE FORK!!!!

2. Exercise is not a chore! It is a gift to yourself!!!

3. When you cheat on your weight loss program you are cheating yourself! You also cheating on those who love you and are supporting you!

4. I will not drive myself crazy to lose weight fast. I will reach my goal one step, one day, and one pound at a time.

5. Nothing tastes as good as being slim feels!

6. Remember that it isn't one day that makes the difference in the long run - it is your over all life style!

7. Don't exchange what you want most for what you want at the moment. In other words.... One minute on the lips means a lifetime on the hips!!!

8. I will work harder today to make sure that I am a better person than yesterday.

9. If you do what you have always done, you will get what you've always gotten!

10. Never give up no matter how long it takes!

11. Don't try to solve your problems with a fork!

12. The scale is not the only way to measure success!!!

13. Wrong attitude: I must lose weight to love myself. Right attitude: I love myself enough to lose weight.

*********

Your presence, is a present to the world.
You are unique and one of a kind.
Your life can be, what you want it to be.
Take days, JUST ONE AT A TIME.

**********

SHAKE IT OFF AND STEP UP!

This parable is told of a farmer who owned
an old mule. The mule fell into the farmer's well.
The water wasn't very deep, so the mule could
stand on the bottom. The farmer heard the mule
praying -or- whatever mules do when they fall into wells.
After carefully assessing the situation, the farmer
sympathized with the mule, but decided that neither
the mule nor the well was worth the trouble of saving.
Instead, he called his neighbors together and told
them what had happened...and enlisted them to help
haul dirt to bury the old mule in the well and put him
out of his misery. Initially, the old mule was hysterical.
But as the farmer and his neighbors continued shoveling
and the dirt hit his back a thought struck him.
It suddenly dawned on him that every time a shovel load of
dirt landed on his back he should shake it off and step up.
This he did, blow after blow of dirt hitting his back.

"Shake it off and step up...shake it off and step up...shake it off and step up."

The old mule repeated to encourage himself. No matter how
painful the blows, or how distressing the situation seemed the
old mule fought panic and just kept right on shaking it off and
stepping up. It wasn't long before the old mule, battered and
exhausted, stepped triumphantly over the wall of the well.
What seemed like it would bury him, actually helped him, all
because of the manner in which he handled his adversity.
That's life.
If we face our problems and respond to them positively, and
refuse to give in to panic, bitterness, or self-pity...the
adversities that come along to bury us usually have within them the
very real potential to benefit us. Never be afraid to try something new.
Remember, amateurs built the Ark.
Professionals built the Titanic.

**********
Begin Again

One of the best things we can do in our lives is this: Begin again

Begin to see yourself as you were
When you were the happiest and strongest you have ever been.

Begin to remember what worked for you
(and what worked against you),
And try to capture the magic again.

Begin to remember how natural it was when you were a child--To live a lifetime in each day.

Begin to forget the baggage you have carried with you for years:
The problems that don't matter anymore,
The tears that cried themselves away,
And the worries that are going to wash away
On the shore of tomorrow's new beginnings.

Tomorrow tell us it will be here every new day of our lives;
And if we will be wise,
We will turn away the problems of the past
And give the future -- and ourselves -- a chance to become the best of friends.

Sometimes all it takes is a wish in the heart to let yourself...BEGIN AGAIN.

[Debelli]

Goals are a means to an end, not the ultimate purpose of our lives. They are simply a tool to concentrate our focus and move us in a direction. The only reason we really pursue goals is to cause ourselves to expand and grow. Achieving goals by themselves will never make us happy in the long term; it's who you become, as you overcome the obstacles necessary to achieve your goals, that can give you the deepest and most long-lasting sense of fulfillment.


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The people who are the most successful at living are those who can learn to wait successfully. Not many people enjoy waiting or learning patience. Yet, waiting can be a powerful tool that will help us accomplish much good.

We cannot always have what we want when we want it. For different reasons,what we want to do,have,be, or accomplish is not available to us now. But there are things we could not do or have today, no matter what, that we can have in the future. Today,we would make ourselves crazy, trying to accomplish what will come naturally , and with ease later.

We can trust that all is on schedule. Waiting time is not wasted time. Something is being worked out - in us, in someone else, in the Universe.

**********

"A person who doubts himself is like a man who enlist in the army of his enemy...and bears arms against himself."

**********

Take it one step at a time. You can do it. Maybe not all at once, but with each step, you'll get closer to where you want to be.

**********

If you do stray from your goal of eating right, think about your diet as a car and your meals as the wheels that guide your car. If your car was to have a flat tire you would not get out of your car and flatten the other 3 tires instead you would fix the flat tire. The same holds true for your eating habits. If you eat one bad meal don't despair fix it and before you know it your back on the highway of losing weight.

**********

Sometimes, after we begin to change, things in our life seem to get worse for a time. Our finances, our relationships, or our health seem to deterioriate.

This is temporary; this is a normal part of change and healing. It may be the way things will be for a time, but not for long.

Keep working at change, and the trend will reverse. Before too long, things, and us, will be better than they were before. This time, the foundation will be solid.

**********

Dare to be yourself.
Emerge,
Unfold,
Unveil your possibilities,
But be natural.
Have no pretenses,
And show your softer side.
Be content,
But don't forget to dream.
And when you do...you will SOAR!

[Debelli]

Believe in yourself, in the power you have
To control your own life, day by day!

Believe in the strength that you have deep inside
And your faith will help show you the way!

Believe in tomorrow and what it will bring,
Let a hopeful heart carry you through

For things will work out! If you trust and believe
There's NO LIMIT to what you can do!

**********

LOSING WEIGHT ISN'T EVERYTHING, BUT THE EFFORT TO LOSE IS.

**********

Approach each start of the day with something in mind.
And end each day with one word - DONE!

**********

Here's a few lines that I'd like to express,
that maybe can relieve a fellow dieter's stress.
It's not very fancy, in fact it's quite plain,
but my words are real honest and not too insane.
Live each day to its fullest and never lose faith.
See the goodness and beauty and not just the weight.
The trials and challenges can only enhance
the special person inside, if given the chance.
So stick to your goals even when you're in doubt.
Remember the reasons you first started out.
I will lose all this weight, healthy and wise.
But for now I refuse to be defined by my size!

[beachfan37]

There once was a girl who ran very slow,
Her true potential she did not know.
In every race she always placed last,
Losing all hope as she got passed.

Her coach encouraged her to just do her best,
Although it hurt her that she couldn't run with the rest.
She went to practice day after day,
Praying to God "Just let me run away."

She wanted to quit she hated the pain.
She didn't know what she had to gain.
One day while she sat at home all alone,
She heard a ring and answered the phone.

" Hello?" she asked in a sad voice.
The caller told her she had but one choice;
"You can cry in pity, you can hide in shame
Or do what you must to get back in the game."

"Excuse me.. but," she began to say.
"No excuses" he replied, "Now be on your way."
She didn't know how, she didn't know why.
She just knew that she must try.

Later that week she ran in a race,
Starting off faster at a quicker pace.
She knew that no one believed she could win;
She was all on her own using strength from within.

As the miles went on, she felt really strong,
Chasing her goal as she went along.
Suddenly the finish line was in her sight,
She knew she could hang on for a finishing fight.

She began to sprint and open her stride.
The crowd cheered on and she filled with pride.
At the finish she was leaning over the line,
Winning as first with a record time.

She looked at her coach, who smiled and said,
"I knew you could do it! It was all in your head!"
A reporter walked up and asked of her name,
"How did you do it? Do you like the fame?"

Questions were asked all and about,
But there was only thing she wanted to shout:
"Anything is possible when you believe
You can attain whatever you set out to achieve."

With that comment she turned with a smile for
"One man's marathon... is another's mile."

--- Copyright © 1999 Lisa N. Redavid
______________________

[Debelli]

CHANGE BEGINS WITH CHOICE

by Jim Rohn
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Any day we wish; we can discipline ourselves to make important changes in our lives. Any day we wish; we can open the book that will open our mind to new knowledge. Any day we wish; we can start a new activity. Any day we wish; we can start the process of life change. We can do it immediately, or next week, or next month, or next year.

We can also do nothing. We can pretend rather than perform. And if the idea of having to change ourselves makes us uncomfortable, we can remain as we are. We can choose rest over labor, entertainment over education, delusion over truth, and doubt over confidence. The choices are ours to make. But while we curse the effect, we continue to nourish the cause. As Shakespeare uniquely observed, "The fault is not in the stars, but in ourselves."

We created our circumstances by our past choices. We have both the ability and the responsibility to make better choices beginning today. Those who are in search of the good life do not need more answers or more time to think things over to reach better conclusions. They need the truth. They need the whole truth. And they need nothing but the truth.

We cannot allow our errors in judgment, repeated every day, to lead us down the wrong path. We must keep coming back to those basics that make the biggest difference in how our life works out. And then we must make the very choices that will bring life, happiness and joy into our daily lives.

And if I may be so bold to offer my last piece of advice for someone seeking and needing to make changes in their life - If you don't like how things are, change it! You're not a tree. You have the ability to totally transform every area in your life - and it all begins with your very own power of choice.

[beachfan37]

Attitude is Everything

Each morning I wake up and say to myself, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood.

I choose to be in a good mood.

Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it.

I choose to learn from it.

Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life.

I choose the positive side of life.

Yeah, right, it's not that easy, you might say. Yes it is, life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations.

You choose how people will affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live life.


[This message has been edited by beachfan37 (edited 01-22-2001).]

[cmd4joy]

I had nothing inspirational to say, so I went to my favorite library (the internet). This I found, a quote by John Rohn:

"We must all suffer from one of two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The difference is discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons."

I needed this..... sometimes it's so much easier to eat wrong than to eat right.... but the regret is so painful!!!



------------------
Healthy, Joyful Hugs!

[beachfan37]

Just For Today

I will live through the next twelve hours and try not to tackle all of life's problems at once. I will learn something useful. I will learn something that requires effort, thought and concentration. I will be agreeable. I will look my best, be courteous and considerate. I will not find fault with friend, relative or colleague. I will not try to change anyone but myself. I will have a program. I might not follow it exactly, but I will have it. It will save myself from two enemies - hurry and indecision. I will believe in myself. I will give my best to the world, and feel confident that the world will give its best to me.
________________________

[Debelli]

Stumbles and Frustrations

The stumbles you endure on the way to the top of the mountain do not make the view from the summit any less magnificent. In fact, they make it more precious and full of meaning.

Learn from your mistakes and move forward. Each mistake, each frustration has within itself the power to stop you once. Don't add to that power by allowing it to continue stopping you. Get on past it and never look back. It's relatively easy to get past the frustrations. There's no sense in making it more difficult by adding your own regret.

The main value of any accomplishment comes from the effort with which it is reached. That's why diamonds, which are rare and difficult to find, are far more valuable than the pebbles which can be found anywhere.

The stumbles, the mistakes, the frustrations, the difficult efforts all serve to create value in the accomplishment which is sought. Take them in stride. You can get through them and you will, on your way to achieving exactly what you desire.

-- Ralph Marston

[Debelli]

The Necessary Effort

We think of success as being glamorous and exciting. At its moment of culmination it often is. Yet for the most part, the essence of success is not so exciting. Usually, it can be downright tedious.

The actions, discipline and focus which lead to great achievement are themselves quite ordinary and unremarkable. Magnificent accomplishments are built mostly out of plain and pedestrian efforts. Even the greatest, most innovative ideas require ordinary hard work to implement. Without that work, they are nothing but unfulfilled dreams.

Are your dreams valuable enough to justify the effort needed to achieve them? Of course they are! Though the work itself could certainly be deemed difficult and tedious, in the context of reaching for your dreams it becomes as exciting and fulfilling as anything you could imagine.

Achievement requires plain old hard work. And because of that, it is available to anyone who is willing to do that work. Visualize your dreams and clarify your goals so that they will pull you steadily through all the effort needed to reach them.

-- Ralph Marston

[Debelli]

PERSEVERE

The greatest accomplishments happen when you get just a little way beyond the point where others would have quit. The difference between someone who enjoys magnificent success, and someone who just managed to get by, is the willingness to do whatever it takes, for as long as it takes, to reach the goal. How far away are you, from reaching your destination? If you quit before you get there you are infinitely far away. Make the commitment to keep going, and suddenly you are almost there.

Go beyond where others are willing to go. Put in the extra effort. The time will pass anyway, whether you use it or now. It just makes sense to make the most out of every moment. Give a little more than others are willing to give, be a little more patient, have a little more curiosity, take a little more responsibility, learn a few more things, and it will make all the difference in the world.

-- Ralph Marston

[The Quilter]

FROM DEB
A CHANGE IN ATTITUDE
There is enormous power in the fact that something so all-encompassing as your attitude can be changed so quickly. Your world can be an entirely different place than the world you lived in a few moments ago when your attitude toward it changes.

The key thing to keep in mind about your attitude is that it is yours. Though anything can influence it, you control it. You have final authority over your attitude. By exercising that control, you can literally change your world.

You say there are certain things which put you in a bad mood. Yet the truth is that you put yourself in a bad mood. It is a way in which you choose to respond. What if you were to make a different choice? Those "bad mood" things would no longer have control over you, and your precious time could be used moving forward rather than feeling miserable.

You say there are things which put you in a good mood. Yet again, that is a choice you make. What if you were to choose it more often? Imagine the positive possibilities!

-- Ralph Marston

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CATLOVER
" SLOW AND EASY WINS THE RACE"

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From MELF
If at first you don't succeed, try & try again.

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From CATHYCATHY
Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition.

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From MARGARET:
Remember that we are heading toward the summer ON PLAN. Whether we look the way we want to or not, we are doing something about our attitudes and our HEALTH.

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From GATORGAL:
"Big goals get big results. No goals gets no results or somebody else’s results."

I also liked her final thought:
You can exercise until the cows come home, but unless you start eating right, you'll still be a cow coming home.

[The Quilter]

FROM THE WEEK OF APRIL 9, 2001 (I’m working backwards!)

From DEB:
Finish every day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be cumbered with your old nonsense.

This day is all that is good and fair. It is too dear, with its hopes and invitations, to waste a moment on the yesterdays.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

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From BEACH:
"If you can't change the circumstances, change your perspective."

There are a lot of things in our lives that we can't change...how we react to things is our choice. Work through problems and issues. Make a decision that you will not let other people or things (i.e. food) control you. You control the situation! YOU CAN DO IT!!!

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From SPARKLE:
For this Monday I will share with you some of my affirmations. After a seminar I attended, I learned the power of affirmations: after all, the mind cannot hold two contradictory beliefs simultaneously! So I worked to replace my old, negative programming with new, positive thoughts. Do I truly believe every single positive thought I put in my head? Not yet, but with repetition, I CAN change the program in my head that causes me to succeed or fail, to take advantage of my opportunities or let my life slip through my fingers! To facilitate this repetition, I wrote out my affirmations on what turned out to be a thick stack of index cards, and keep them next to my bed so that I can go over them often.

These are a few samples and pertain to all areas of life. Of course, yours will be different. It’s just to give you an idea:


* I give freely
* I’m not afraid to ask for help.
* I’m open to new experiences.
* I’m not afraid to talk to strangers.
* I live in the present moment.
* I enjoy a challenge.
* I am at peace with myself and others.
* I am poised and present myself well at all times.
* I project an aura of confidence and authority.
* I am my own best friend.
* I like spending time with myself.
* I am a worthy partner for somebody special.
* I see the good in others first.
* What I do matters
* What I do affects others, perhaps even the whole world.
* I am not alone.
* I live my life with the clarity of purpose.
* I have no self-doubt.
* I listen to my body and am therefore naturally thin and healthy.
* I am physically fit.
* I can stand up for myself while still expressing tact.
* I can set boundaries on my relationships without building walls.
* I make others feel healthy, special, and worthy.
* I empower others.
* I am a natural leader.
* My purpose in life is to have a positive impact on others.
* I take risks and am not afraid of failure.
* I keep my word to myself and others.


Affirmations have real power. I hope you will also take ten minutes out of your day to “change the channel” mentally!

**********

From AMSERAPHIM:
Take time.
Take ten,
Take vacations,
Take risks,
Take heart,
Whatever it takes
Just do it!

**********

From FROG:
When you say "no" (to others demands, temptations, etc) you say "yes" to yourself!

[The Quilter]

From DEB---

BELIEVE IT

It pays to be a little skeptical in a world where people are constantly making all sorts of fantastic claims.

You certainly cannot believe all you read, or hear or see on television. Get-rich-quick schemes, miracle weight loss products, hot stock tips and other such things promise to quickly and easily solve problems with little or no effort. They seem so enticing, yet they usually turn out to be just enticement and nothing more. A healthy skepticism can save you from a lot of pain and disappointment.

When it comes to yourself and the possibilities for your own life and your ability to make those possibilities a reality, however, set your skepticism aside. What you believe is possible for your life, is possible. What you believe about yourself, is who you are. What you decide to accomplish, you will accomplish.

Allow yourself to believe in yourself. Allow yourself to believe that the best in life is possible for you. Let your belief infect, infuse and empower your thoughts, your actions, and your expectations. In your belief is the power to overcome whatever obstacles may stand in your way.

When the world promises you something, it's just common sense to temper your belief with a healthy skepticism. Yet when you make a promise to yourself, believe it with everything you have and you'll find a way to keep that promise.

-- Ralph Marston

***********

From AMSER---

From time to time,
we all feel a little disappointed with
our lives and perhaps the people in them.
We start questioning our daily routines;
a sense of loneliness touches our hearts,
and we wonder what life is really all about.
When you reach this point in your life,
take a moment and forget about
what has gone before...
and start believing in
what you really want today.
It is by redirecting our lives that
we can keep ourselves headed
in the right direction,
and it is by standing still that
we allow time to just pass us by.
It is looking at a sunrise or a sunset
and appreciating its beauty for ourselves
that enables us to understand
some of life's mysteries.
No two people see the world the same
way, nor do they think or feel or even
experience things around them
with the same exact perception.
Don't try to mold yourself or your life
into a design that isn't you;
rather, paint your days
with all the colors you so desire
and enjoy the artwork that
you alone can create.

*************

From ICESKATEFAN---

My little bit of motivation:
Even though the sun sets...it rises again the next day...sometimes even brighter than the day before...

*************

From BEACHFAN37---

Here is my motivational thought for the day:" You have a greatest gift, that is life, so live it."
--- Copyright © 2001 Edward J. Adams

[The Quilter]

From DEB---

EVERY STEP


Even the most difficult challenge can be broken down into finite, easily accomplished steps. People who only take some of those steps will fall short of the goal. Those who are willing to take all the steps will enjoy success.

Some people will often take a few steps and then stop, complaining about how unfair life is. Others will take some steps in one direction, grow bored, and then start off in another direction, only to become disillusioned.

The only way to success is to go all the way to success. Take one step after another until you are there. It doesn't take a genius to figure it out. It doesn't take exceptional strength to get it done. What it takes is desire and commitment. You have them if you choose to use them.

The path to any success is in front of you, and you are free to travel that path, one step at a time. Each step is within your reach. It's up to you to take them all, every one of them.

-- Ralph Marston

************

From Sparklescamp---

Motivation

This was written in response to Anna’s question on Saturday, “I have a question for everyone. What has motivated you to be on this WOE? In my case it was health issues and because I was feeling so bad. I would be interested in know what the other motivators are?” I found that to be a very thought-provoking question; therefore I will spend some time answering it. This is very personal and touches on several aspects of my history.

Physical health

Like Mary, I have a history of cancer and diabetes in my family. Both my grandmothers had diabetes, as does my father. Many relatives have died of cancer. I myself have survived thyroid cancer. I was so far into my depression and compulsive eating that none of this really bothered me. In fact, I cared nothing about what happened to my body. I wouldn’t wear a jacket when I was cold. I would wear polyester, bulky clothing in warm weather because I was ashamed of my body. I never went to the doctor unless I was dying. When I got cancer none if it seemed real. I was too young.

But looking back over the past couple years, I can honestly say that cancer was the best thing that ever happened to me. I didn’t care when I was diagnosed. I didn’t care when I went through a 5 1/2 hour surgery to remove a 2.5 cm tumor and my entire thyroid. I CARED when I went through two radioiodine treatments to zap the remaining thyroid tissue, and I was mentally and physically incapacitated from not having enough thyroid hormone, then had to be confined to the hospital for 3 days each just when I was at my worst. I cared because I knew then that I wouldn’t always be able to do the things I wanted to do physically. So while I have the strength, I run. I move my body as much as I can. I find my limits and I stretch them. I may have to have another treatment soon. Until then nothing will slow me down! (Well, except for falling

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From SOLSHINE---

Walking is falling - just catching yourself before you do. Keep putting that one foot in front of the other. One of the greatest pieces of advice I can remember about working out is - on those days when you don't feel like it - get dressed and geared up and tell yourself that you'll do just 10 minutes and, if you want to quit after that, you can. More times than not once you get moving you won't stop. It works!!

Quote of the Day
You don't love a woman because she is beautiful, but she is beautiful because you love her.
- Anonymous

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From BIGORANGEBABE---

LEARN FROM YOUR OWN MISTAKES!!

Twenty years ago in fifteen minutes, I went under the
knife and had my stomach stapled....I lost 123 lbs on that adventure...
Here I sit twenty years later, weighing ALMOST as much as I did then and starting over AGAIN
I wish I knew how much I had lost and gained over the last twenty years, BUT I DON'T.
Wish I knew why I let myself lose control like I have, BUT I DON'T....
I could sit here all day wishing I knew BUT I WON'T...
Did I learn from my mistake? YOU BET I DID...IS IT TOO LATE? YOU BET IT'S NOT!

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From LISA---

Here's my contribution to Motivational Monday. This is quote from Oprah Winfrey's book, Make the Connection:

"The connection is a change in perception. It is first realizing that losing weight is not what is most important. Instead, the excess weight is merely a symptom of a larger problem and losing it is a side effect, a nice one certainly, of something much more important. It is really about increasing self-confidence, inner strength, and discipline. It is about feeling better on a daily basis, having control over your life, and caring about yourself. Ultimately it is about self-love."

[The Quilter]

From DEB---

ALL THE WAY

Success requires that you go the distance. Results depend not only on what you start to do, but on what you complete. Accomplishment depends not on what you intend to do, but on what you actually get done.

Wishing, hoping, planning, and trying will not by themselves get you there. Your persistence, your commitment, your actions are what will bring the success you seek.

The world is full of those with great ideas and big plans. Unfortunately, too many of those ideas are never fully explored. Too many of those plans are never completely implemented.

Dream big dreams. Make big plans. And then take the actions which will make those dreams a reality. Give real time and effort to your best intentions and you'll transform them into accomplishment.

-- Ralph Marston

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From BEACHFAN---

Envision your life as a grain of sand on the beach. A grain of sand can move unnoticed to the eye. Use this concept when you want to do something but you are afraid. Your action can go unnoticed to anyone else but you. If you never act in life you will always

[The Quilter]

From DEB---

SELF DISCIPLINE

Self discipline is the way to turn your intentions into reality. Self discipline is the way to transform your weaknesses into strengths. Without discipline, even when you know what you want, you're unable to achieve it. Without discipline, even though you know what you don't want, you're unable to avoid it.

Self discipline is essential to living life on your own terms. It takes effort, it takes determination, it takes sacrifice, yet it is not a punishment. Rather, it is a fulfillment, the means to reaching your highest and best possibilities.

How do you "get" self discipline? You already have it. It involves nothing more than controlling your own actions, and you've been doing that since you were a child. To discipline yourself, you simply must decide to do it. The powerful tool of self discipline is yours to use whenever you're ready to start living life on your own terms.

-- Ralph Marston

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From NANCEMEISTER---

Here is a "thought" for Motivational Monday.

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From SPARKLE---

Fear

This is in response to Nancy’s question about the fear of being thin. This fear is quite different for a woman who has never been thin, even as a child. At age 8 I wore a bigger size jeans than my mother. Every year since I was 12 I dreamed of being thin the following year, but it never happened.

Being thin enough to be considered attractive by society’s standards is something I’ve never experienced. Currently, I’m 157 pounds and a size 12, and even now am having a very difficult time mentally breaking through that size 10/12 barrier, which I’ve stayed above for almost a year now. Therefore, this subject is worth exploring. Sometimes I dream of the future and imagine myself being 140 pounds, or a size 8 or 6. Panic sets in. I’m baffled, because being thin is what I want to accomplish more than anything.

The reasons why I am afraid of being thin are nebulous in my own mind, but I will make an attempt to address them.

The fantasy fulfilled is the fantasy lost

As someone who has always been fat, I’ve built a lot of fantasies in my head about what it will be like to be thin. As I teenager, I imagined I would wear certain lovely clothes, which I imagined in detail, and live in a perfectly clean house (with a pool, of course). I would eat nothing but fruits, vegetables and chocolate. I would have plenty of friends, especially guys, who would be welcome to walk in my doors (French windows, of course) whenever they pleased. And I would have a perfect boyfriend to match my perfect life.

Well, as an adult, I know that just being thin doesn’t make life perfect. Intellectually, I know I’ll still have the same struggles, fears and insecurities as I do now. Emotionally, however, part of me still hangs on to the dream of the perfect life I’ll have when I’m finally thin.

If I achieve the ultimate goal, what’s left?

I met a wonderful man at a seminar a few months back who had climbed Mt. Everest. The speaker, in addressing the man’s current life situation, told him, “You’ve already achieved the ultimate goal. There’s nothing left for you to strive for.” The man sadly nodded his head.

Life will always hold a challenge for me. But reaching my ideal weight has been my ultimate goal for as long as I can remember. When I achieve that goal, nothing else will seem quite as exciting. It’s easy and comfortable to put off that moment for a few more months, to have something to look forward to in the near future.

It’s the Big League, baby

Being fat gives me an excuse to play in the Little League. I can use my weight as an excuse to settle for less than the best in my career, romantic life, home, clothes and car.

I am compulsive and competitive. I want to do the best job possible at whatever I undertake. I am good at my job. I have achieved what I have always achieved by doing what I’ve always done . . . being a good secretary. I can be a big fish in a little pond so long as I use my weight as an excuse that being a key support person is all I am good for. But there is more out there for me. Even after accomplishing the major step of completing my licensing exams in securities sales, I’m stalling in my career just like I’m stalling in my weight, and for the same reasons. When I’m thin, I imagine, there will be no excuses left for me to play in the Little League. Because I have to be the best, that means I have to achieve on a higher level.

I have used my weight as an excuse not to date the kind of person I would want to marry, the kind of person who is capable of making a commitment, or the kind of person who treats me the way I deserve to be treated. I imagine myself with someone handsome, kind, caring, committed, good with money; and I’m intimidated by the vision. I still have the idea in the back of my head that such a man would never be attracted to me, and even if he is, he’ll see through the facade in time.

I have a specific vision of what my house should look like, along with my wardrobe and car. But I settle for less because I imagine I’ll have all those things when I’m thin. While I’m still fat, there’s no point in trying because my very presence ruins my perfect vision of my perfect life.

Fear of the unknown

I don’t know what it’s like to be considered an attractive female. In a way, there is great comfort in this. I don’t have to worry about men pursuing me for my looks alone. I don’t have to worry about my female friends playing little jealous games behind my back over men. I can choose not to fully participate in relationships and in my own life, simply by staying fat.

What’s wrong with this picture?

Most of you are shaking your heads by now. I can see the fallacies in the above logic and thus, work to change my core beliefs about myself. I don’t have to be perfect. I don’t have to have the perfect house or car before I can do little things to improve my life.

Things won’t be any different when I’m thin. I’ll still be the same person, and the people around me will still be the same. I may get more sexual attention, but those men will still have the same values inside . . . just like now, it takes time to get to know a person and find out what he is really like.

Most of all, the idea of using my weight as an excuse not to fully participate in my own life is a trap I must avoid at any cost.

I have confidence that with my newfound nutritional knowledge, I will break through this barrier I’ve built in my head. My progress will not be instant, but one pound at a time, I will reach my goal.

[The Quilter]

From DEB---

BUILDING BLOCKS


The substance of success is deceptively easy. It comes in the small, seemingly insignificant moments. When those moments are combined and directed toward a goal, success is achieved.

The fundamental essence of achievement is available to anyone. It doesn't usually require great strength or great intelligence or extraordinary skill. The most magnificent achievements spring from the most ordinary moments, when all those moments are directed toward the achievement.

Over the next few hours, you will face numerous decisions. The vast majority of these decisions will seem trivial. Yet when you consistently make decisions in a focused and intentional manner, fully aware of their combined consequences, those small, easy actions can lead to great and lasting success at anything you choose to pursue.

The moments of your life are the fundamental building blocks of success and achievement. Each one is easy to manipulate. Each one is important. Put them all together in just the right way, and you'll build something great.

-- Ralph Marston

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From LDBLOND---

What do you expect?
When you expect good things to happen you'll find the good in whatever happens. Expect to have a productive day and you'll do whatever it takes to make the day productive.
Most circumstances are inherently neither good nor bad. They are mostly what you make of them. When you're determined to achieve, the circumstances will work in your favor because you'll find a way to make them work in your favor.

Are you waiting for a reason to be positive? Here's a reason. Be positive, and expect great things for yourself, because it will bring richness and fulfillment to your life. When the circumstances seem to be working against you, that's even more reason to be positive, because it will enable you to turn those circumstances in your favor.

You'll get what you truly expect. So why would you ever want to expect anything less that the very best?

-- Ralph Marston

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From ICESKATEFAN---

"It is one of the strange ironies of this strange
life that those who work the hardest, who
subject themselves to the strickest discipline,
who give up certain pleasurable things in order
to achieve a goal, are the happiest people.
When you see 20 or 30 people line up for a
distance race in some meet, don't pity them,
don't feel sorry for them. Better envy
them instead."
--Brutus Hamilton

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From NANCEMEISTER---

Again, I am motivational mondayless.....no words of wisdom, as I am trying to soak in all the wisdom that has been posted.

When I think of motivation, I wonder what motivates most people. Some are motivated by negative, some are motivated by positive, some have their own inner strength. I couldn't ever quite figure out what personally motivates me, otherwise I probably would have started this WOE a long time ago. I think I usually respond when I feel like someone really cares about me. Sometimes that can inspire me...or when I see someone else have passion for what they are doing, that can be very inspiring.

I wonder how many of us are doing what we really want to be doing in our lives. How many of us had dreams of becoming something when we were growing up and ended up doing something completely different.
If we all had a script of what our lives were going to be like, would we be happy with our story? I think the most powerful tool we have, is the power to change. I read a quote out of a magazine this weekend and it really got me thinking:

Whatever you fear most has no power-it is your fear that has the power

I guess that is why they say "your mind is a powerful thing". What would we do, if we had no fear. WHat would we want to accomplish? When I had asked if anyone had a fear of loosing weight, there were several responses. What does loosing body weight represent?
A change...and it's definately a change for the better. We all know that, yet many of us struggle. I think there is a reason why most of us are overweight, and it has to do with our self-worth, self-esteem. It has to do with loving ourselves enough to make a change. Putting ourselves first for a change. Taking control of our lives.
For the longest time I thought loosing weight was for everyone else. I couldn't even identify with people who had once been overweight, and were now skinny because I thought they were now "one of them", a thin person. Whatever issues I have to deal with on this journey, I feel that I am now in a much safer place, a place where I can share these odd fears, and move forward with the support of this awesome group. I know it's not going to be easy, temptation is always there, but each day is a new fresh start.

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From SOLSHINE---

Time Management

This seemed "timely" for us gals!

A philosophy professor stood before his class and had some items in front of him. When class began, wordlessly, he picked up a large empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks; rocks about 2" in diameter. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

So, the professor then picked up a box of pebbles, and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open area between the rocks. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed that it was. The students laughed.

The professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else.

"Now," said the professor, " I want you to recognize that this is your life. The rocks are the important things - your family, your partner, your health, and your children -- anything that is so important to you that if it were lost, you would be devastated. The pebbles are the other things that matter, like your job, your house, your car. The sand is everything else . . . the small stuff."

He continued, "If you put the sand into the jar first, there is no room for the pebbles or the rocks. The same goes for life. If you spend all your energy and time on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical check-ups. Take your partner out dancing. There will be time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party, and fix the disposal.

Take care of the rocks first -- the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."

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From SPARKLE---

It's Mind Over Matter - And Your Body's the Matter!
--by John Abdo © FitnessLink. May not be reprinted without permission.

Getting, and staying, motivated about a fitness lifestyle is a wrestling match every fitness enthusiast experiences at one time or another. Even world-class athletes lose their focus from time to time and struggle to keep themselves "mentally" on track. But don't think about throwing in the towel just yet. There are plenty of proven solutions, and they're easier than you think!

My chief role as a fitness consultant doesn't only include instructing exercise sessions. I must also integrate a variety of motivational, or mind conditioning, tools which inspire, educate and move each of my students into productive and enjoyable workouts that yield incredible results. Over the years, I've learned how to use these tools to train my students' minds so that they can train their bodies.

It should come as no surprise that there really is such a thing as the "mind-body connection" - the psychophysiological mechanism that acts as the driving force behind all voluntary and involuntary actions of the body. When the mind is conditioned - possessing the motivational power and knowledge that enables one to enthusiastically and confidently approach their exercise and eating programs - the body responds over time by manifesting its genetic potential. I refer to this as a re-engineering process.

In my book, Body Engineering, I reveal many of the techniques that can help you become your own body engineer. I'd like to share one of the exercises here, so grab a pen and paper because you're going back to school, and I'm your new teacher!

Complete the following exercise step-by-step, in the exact order listed below.

STEP 1: The first thing you must do is understand that it's imperative to train your brain so that you can train your body. A weak mind will equal a weak body, but a strong mind will build a healthy, lean and vibrant body. Once you understand this key principle you are well on your way to re-engineering the way you look and feel.

STEP 2: Every day - did you hear me? I said every day - you must write your goals on a piece of paper. If you have one goal ("I want to lose 4 inches off my waist"), write that one down. If you have several goals, commit all of them to paper on a daily basis. Something magical happens when the brain generates a thought and the body records it onto paper. This exercise converts a hermit lodged in your brain into a jet-set traveler who takes residence in all the tissues of your body.

STEP 3: After you write your goals down, read them out loud - every day. Again, there's a phenomenon that occurs when you profess what you want. Simply wishing a goal in silence has no stimulating power. Stand up in front of a mirror, assume the role of your own coach or motivator, and say with conviction, "You are going to keep exercising to lose this fat and, you know what young lady?, you're making progress every day!"

STEP 4: How willing are you? Make two lists: A) All of the things you need to do to achieve your goals; and B) All of the things you must avoid to achieve your goals. For example: A) I need to take advantage of my health club membership, walk every morning, etc.; and B) I need to cut out sugar, quit having dessert late at night, etc.

STEP 5: Make a date with yourself. Treat yourself once a week. Follow your fitness program as strictly as you can all week, but reward yourself on a weekly basis so that you do not feel deprived.

STEP 6: Seek wise advice from a personal trainer or other health/fitness authority who can properly assess your current status and guide you throughout your re-engineering process.

STEP 7: Don't get discouraged. This will only prevent you from getting back on track. Everybody - even the pro's - slip off track at times. As long as you become steadfast, always getting yourself back on track after being derailed, pat yourself on the back, lift your chin, and go for it all over again.

Let me conclude by saying that investing in yourself pays huge dividends down the road. Put it in your head first then watch your body mold into the image in your mind.

--John Abdo is a professor of fitness training, author of Body Engineering, and inventor of The AB-DOer (www.abdoer.com).
March 2000

[The Quilter]

From DEB---

SO DO IT

Do what needs to be done. Say what needs to be said. Listen to the things you need to hear. Learn what you need to learn. Explain what you need to explain.

Rather than constructing elaborate methods for avoiding these things, or elaborate excuses to evade them, just get them done. Instead of letting things slip and continue to weight you down, get them done and let your actions energize you. The avoidance of effort is just as difficult as effort itself yet avoidance accomplishes nothing positive.

Success is not always easy, yet it is for the most part simple. The way to accomplishment is not hidden. It is in plain view. You can see what must be done. Stop fretting. Quit worrying. Don't complain. You know what you need to do. So do it.

Ralph Marston

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From ICESKATEFAN---

Ability is what you're capable of doing.
Motivation determines what you do.
Attitude determines how well you do it.
--Lou Holtz

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From CATLOVER---

"Your actions reveal your true commitments and priorities. They create the substance of your life. Your actions make all the difference in the world, and they are under your control. The quality of your life is determined by the
quality and consistency of your actions. Each day, take positive action like your life depends on it. Because it does."
~Ralph S. Marston, Jr.~

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From FILLISE---

My motivational thought for today is a bit off the beaten path. But I have a great aunt who is celebrating her 103rd birthday today (yup--you read that right). She is mobile and alert and does 50-100 situps everymorning before she gets out of bed. If there is anyone who is a testament about what physical exercise will do--my aunt is it. She did Yoga for years (though if I'm not mistaken she didn't begin until she was in her 60's). She has only just begun using a walker--sometimes. She has traveled around the world many times. When she celebrated her 100th birthday three years ago, friends and family came from all over the world to help her celebrate. Again, she didn't begin her travels until after raising her familyand becoming a grandmother. Her motto is "Any money not spent on travel is wasted."

Now I'm not saying you should adopt her motto. But she had a dream to see the world and she made it come true--and she did it fairly late in life (although in retrospect it turns out that her 60s were more like middle aged for her!).

What is your dream? What would it take to make your dream come true? Even if it is something you can't accomplish in one day, what is the one thing you can do TODAY as a first step in making that dream come true? A lot of little steps will make that big dream a reality and we owe it to ourselves to make our dreams a reality.

I know most of us on this board are united by a dream of a healthier lifestyle. We can take positive steps to make this dream come true every single day. Let's do it for ourselves! What other dreams do you have? To change careers? To travel? To write? Whatever it is take one step today to bring that dream closer to reality.

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From QUILTER---

Okay, here’s my motivational Monday . . . it may be a bit long, but thought it spoke VOLUMES to me. Enjoy if you have the time to read it all. It’s from Bob Greene in “Make the Connection.”

There are two concepts I want to introduce to you. They go hand-in-hand with daily renewal. They are 1. Living in the moment. 2 Finding joy in your life. . . . .I believe that without incorporating these two concepts into your day and your life, you will have a difficult time maintaining any results you achieve. More important, I can’t imagine a fulfilling life without the feeling of living in the moment and experiencing true joy. . . . . . When I first began working with people who wanted to lose weight or needed to improve their health for medical reasons, I never mentioned these concepts. I did, however, notice that all the people I worked with were preoccupied with either the past or the future. They never seemed to experience the present. Looking back, I realize that most of these people were never joyful. The two concepts are related. It is much easier to experience true joy when you learn to live “in the moment.” . . . . I also remember a time in my life when many wonderful things would happen, but I never took the time to appreciate them. Instead, I was always so focused on the future. I thought by doing that, more of these great things would, happen. Now I realize, what’s the point of good things in your life if they are never recognized or appreciated as they happen? . . . . Only after I experienced living in the moment was I able to experience true joy. How could I have been so preoccupied before? I wondered. I began questioning why most people focus on either the past or the future, when their entire life is lived in the present. I had to ask myself why I was always thinking of the future. The answer in all instances was that there was discontent with something about the present. That discontent was what made me obsess about improving my future. So in a sense, I was sacrificing my present for my future, not realizing that the future never really arrives. It’s always the future! I decided from that day on that I was going to experience as many current moments as I could. Soon after that I began experiencing the present moment on a regular basis, and true joy often followed. This has changed my life.

[Debelli]

RISE ABOVE IT

When some particular difficulty has you feeling like you're surrounded, which way do you go? The best way to go is up. A powerful strategy for overcoming the challenges is to get yourself on top of them rather than in the midst of them.

So how do you do that? You have a powerful tool available to you. It's something you use all the time without even realizing it, something you've been using since you are a child. It's known as visualization. It can positively and definitively change your mind, your attitude, and your energy level. And by so doing it can change the reality of your life.

When you're deep within a difficult challenge, visualize yourself rising above it. Close your eyes, and see the challenge surrounding you. Imagine that it has color and texture. In your mind, give it a size and shape. Then, using the same power of imagination, see yourself rising above it, like a hot air balloon lifting off the ground and into the air.

Get high enough above it and you'll see a way out. Get high enough above it and you'll see what's beyond it. Imagine yourself high enough above that challenge and you'll know, with absolute certainty, that you have what it takes to emerge victorious.

Whatever challenge confronts you, give yourself some valuable perspective. In your mind, rise above it. And in your actions you'll find a way to make it through.

-- Ralph Marston

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IN FOCUS

It seems obvious and yet it's a powerful truth that's all too often overlooked. To stay focused you need something on which to focus -- something specific, something clear and well defined.

Are you having trouble staying focused? Then perhaps you need to more clearly define the object of your focus. As an example, let's say you're attempting to focus on making more money. The vague goal of "making more money" is not clear enough nor definitive enough. Exactly how much more money do you intend to earn? Precisely how do you intend to earn it? What will you do with it when you get it, and why is that important to you? Questions such as these will provide you with a clear and specific object on which to focus.

Focus is impossible without a focal point. Just the act itself of clearly and specifically defining that focal point will serve to lock your mind and your energy into focus. And when the object of your focus is well defined, you can quickly get back on track if your focus should happen to stray.

Know, understand, and appreciate precisely where you desire to be focused. The more clearly you can define the object of your focus, the more intently and effectively you can focus upon it. Decide exactly what you intend to do, and almost as if by magic you'll find yourself actually getting it done.

-- Ralph Marston

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WHAT MATTERS

It doesn't matter how many opportunities come your way. What matters is the way in which you respond to them. It doesn't matter how many obstacles block your path. What matters is the way you decide to face those challenges and get through them.

It doesn't matter how much money you have or what kind of resources are available to you. What matters is how you make use of them. It doesn't matter what has happened in your past. What matters is what you do with right now.

It doesn't matter what others think of you. What matters is what you truly expect of yourself. It doesn't matter what circumstances you may find yourself in. What matters is how you respond to those circumstances and make the most of them.

What life hands you is not nearly so important as what you do with it. The details of your life are not nearly so important as life itself, and the precious, irreplaceable opportunity to live it.

Master those details, but don't get caught up in them or held back by them. What matters is the life you decide to live.

-- Ralph Marston

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[Debelli]

CHOOSE YOUR FOCUS

If you think that your life lacks focus, consider this. You are always focused on something. You definitely have the ability to focus your attention. Yet in order to benefit from that ability to focus, you must be willing to continually exercise control over it.

Staying positively and productively focused is not so much a skill that must be learned as it is a choice that must be made. And you're much more likely to make the necessary choice when that choice is clear to you.

In every moment you have a choice. You can choose achievement or you can choose mediocrity. You can choose victory or you can choose defeat. You can choose to keep yourself focused on the thoughts and actions which will move you forward, or you can choose to let your focus wander uselessly from one thing to another.

Staying positively focused is a matter of choice. You can focus your efforts in the direction of success, whenever you choose to do so. You're always focused on something, so make the choice to make that focus count.

-- Ralph Marston

[Debelli]

YOUR DESTINATION


Right this very moment you are on your way somewhere. You are moving steadily toward a specific destination, as a result of the thoughts you are thinking and actions you are taking right now.

What is that destination? Where is it you are busily taking yourself? Is it where you've always wanted to go, or is it somewhere you'd rather not even think about?

Look at how you're spending this day. Consider your plans for tomorrow. All those activities will lead you somewhere. That place will be the place you choose, and your choice will be made by your actions.

Are your actions today making the choice you truly desire? If so, that's great. If not, that's no problem, because you're in a position to change those actions.

Your desires may be strong yet it is your actions, day in and day out, which will bring those desires into reality. They're yours to use. Let them bring you to the best life you can possibly imagine.

-- Ralph Marston

[Debelli]

FREE FROM DOUBT


Doubt is nothing more than a thought, a thought over which you have complete control. Doubt is a thought which you can dispose of whenever you choose to do so.

One very effective way to dispose of those thoughts of doubt is to replace them with thoughts of power and faith. If doubt is holding you back, then choose to push its thoughts out of your mind with more positive, empowering thoughts.

If it's possible for you to think that you cannot, then it's just as possible for you to know that you can. It's simply a matter of replacing one thought with another. Thoughts of doubt will hold you back. Thoughts of confidence will push you forward. It's easy to see which thoughts will be more beneficial to you.

Is it really so difficult to transform "I can't do this" into "I will do this"? No, it's not difficult at all. It's a matter of choice. And that choice can make all the difference in the world.

Push the doubts out of your thinking. Fill your mind with so many thoughts of confidence that there's no room left for doubt. Free yourself of doubt, and you'll be free to achieve whatever you decide to pursue.

-- Ralph Marston

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PATIENCE


There is enormous strength in patience, because patience enables you to achieve the most effective results, not just the most immediately available results. When you act out of haste and shortsightedness, time can work against you. When you are patient and diligent, time works in your favor.

Patience is more than just waiting. Patience is having the faith and the confidence to act over the long term, beginning now, and steadily continuing day after day until the goal is reached.

Patience expands your options. If you insist on immediate gratification, your choices are severely limited. When you are willing to work patiently and steadfastly toward your goals, those goals can realistically be just about anything you choose.

The greatest achievements are those which are built day after day, month after month, with one effort on top of another. When you can be urgent about the effort and patient about the reward, anything is indeed possible.

-- Ralph Marston

[Debelli]

Continuous effort, not strength or intelligence is the key to unlocking our potential.


**********

Every healthy meal that you have is something to congratulate yourself on, look at the healthy changes you have made each day. When you have a lapse, plan for how to handle the same situation the next time it happens.

*********
Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success.

*********
We're all pilgrims on the same journey-but some pilgrims have better road maps.

*********
Whether or not you reach your goals in life depends entirely on how well you prepare for them and how badly you want them. You're eagles! Stretch your wings and fly to the sky.

[Debelli]

A NEW DAY

What has happened has happened. If you've had a difficult day, or month, or year, it does no good to dwell on your unfortunate experiences. Move on past them. Avoid the temptation to feel sorry for yourself or to enlist the pity of others. Your troubles are in the past so there is no reason whatsoever for dismay.

Get up and get going. The future is completely open and filled with an unlimited supply of positive possibilities. Today is a new day and you are fortunate enough to be living it. Furthermore, you can decide precisely how to live this day. You can determine what will become of it. Don't look backward with regret or contempt. Look forward with gratitude and excitement.

Your attitude right now matters more than anything that could have ever happened in the past. Forget about making excuses. Focus on making a difference. Every bit of negativity you've ever experienced is now in the past. Do yourself a big favor and leave it there.

-- Ralph Marston

[Debelli]

GET BACK UP


Lots of things can knock you down, yet nothing can stop you when you're determined to keep getting back up. Success belongs to those who can endure enough disappointments and setbacks while staying positive and committed to reaching the goal.

The way to build strong muscles is to lift heavier and heavier weights. In the same way, the strength necessary for achievement comes when you quickly get going again each time you're knocked down. The setbacks are not really setbacks. They're opportunities to take your efforts to a higher and more effective level. The disappointments are not really disappointments. They're experiences that will strengthen your determination.

When you have the confidence to get back up, there's no need to be stopped by the fear of being knocked down. Even if you fall short, it's just one more step on the way to certain achievement.

Everyone knows disappointment. Winners are those who acknowledge the disappointment but who refuse to accept it as the final result. Keep getting back up, keep getting back in the game. No matter how many setbacks may come your way, each one is a golden invitation to get back up and move on ahead.

-- Ralph Marston

[Debelli]

MAKING A CHOICE


Just imagine what would be possible for you today if only you could exercise positive, focused control over every thought and action. You wouldn't waste any time being angry or spiteful or envious. You'd simply move yourself positively forward. You would actually do all those things you know you need to do, and you would avoid those things you know you'd later regret.

In fact, you do have control over your thoughts and actions. After all, they're your thoughts and they're your actions. So why do they so often lead you toward things that are not in your best interest? It happens whenever you choose short term pleasure and comfort over long term joy and achievement.

Is that really what you want to do, or has it just become a habit? Today would be a great day to break that habit. Today would be a great day to start living in your best interest. Today would be a great day to put your efforts into building a life of purpose, achievement and fulfillment.

The shallow pleasures of the moment never last, so choose to invest your precious time in something more substantial. Every moment you're making a choice, and every moment you have the opportunity to build a life of greatness. You're in control of what you do, so make sure it expresses who you really want to be.

-- Ralph Marston

[Debelli]

FINDING A WAY


Things which now come easily and naturally to you, at one time seemed difficult and even impossible. You found a way around those obstacles which once were so daunting. You found a way because you had enough desire to find it. You found a way because you had the commitment to find it and to make it work.

When you need to, or want to, or must, you can find a way to move past whatever is blocking your path, toward whatever you desire. The difficulty of the challenge is not nearly as important as the strength of your commitment.

What do you sincerely intend to do, and what do you truly expect to do? These are the things that will get done, because you will find a way. The efforts probably won't be comfortable, convenient or easy, but then nothing of value ever is. That's why commitment is so crucial, because it will get you through what you must get through.

You're going to get knocked down. With enough commitment you'll get back up. You're going to become sidetracked and blown off course. With enough commitment you'll quickly get back on track.

Your previous priorities and commitments have brought you to where you are right now. Commit to the best, the brightest, the most positive future you can sincerely imagine. Make the commitment, and you'll find the way.

-- Ralph Marston

[Debelli]

:D MOVING THIS UP!

[Debelli]

STICK IT OUT


Keep going. You've come all this way, invested irreplacable time. Don't stop now. Each moment brings you closer and closer to the success you desire. Each action ensures that you will get there that much sooner.

Have you ever wondered how many people give up when they are just a week, or a month away from finally succeeding? What a shame! What a waste!

Keep on going. Determination will prevail over any obstacle. Consistent effort will win out over genius, luck and talent. When things get difficult, it's probably because you're starting to make a difference. Continue doing it. Keep up the effort. You'll soon be there.

-- Ralph Marston
**************
ENERGY OF FRUSTRATION

Within every frustration is the power to move forward. After all, you could not be frustrated if you did not also know for certain that things could indeed be better.

The more frustrated you feel, the more you are ready, willing and able to move beyond that frustration with positive and effective action. Though it may be quite painful, frustration also is a powerful motivator.

Frustration has its positive, empowering elements as well as its negative, dismaying ones. Remove the resentment and self pity from your frustration, and what you have left is pure, positive energy. Remove the anger and the blame, and you uncover drive, ambition, persistence. Not only can frustration spur you into action and keep you going, it can do so in ways that enable you to clearly focus on what needs to be done.

When there is frustration, there is opportunity. Where there is frustration, there is an underlying positive energy that's anxious to spring into action. Don't let your frustration get the best of you or get you down. Instead, know that it's positively compelling you to move forward, and make use of the considerable energy that your frustration gives you to do just that.

-- Ralph Marston

[Debelli]

COMMITMENT

True commitment is serious and it is powerful. Commitment is not just saying you'll do it. Commitment is doing it. True commitment is not conditional, for to be committed means to be absolutely committed.

Commitment is more than doing just what is convenient or comfortable. Commitment is doing what is necessary. Commitment is making the sacrifices and tradeoffs that are required to uphold it. Commitment is more than just wishing for the right conditions. Commitment is working with what you have.

Commitment is not easy. Commitment does not back down or run away at the first sign of trouble. Commitment perseveres until the goal is reached. Commitment does not waste time and effort whining or complaining or seeking to find blame. Commitment adjusts to reality and moves forward.

Too many people have been deceived for too long, and have come to expect that they can know fulfillment without the gritty effort of commitment. They are sadly mistaken. Real, solid commitment is real work. And well worth it. The evidence is overwhelming -- it gets results like nothing else can.

-- Ralph Marston

[Debelli]

WITHIN YOUR REACH

Your dreams are most certainly within your reach. Yet just because they're within your reach does not automatically mean that you'll reach them. It is up to you to move yourself toward them. It is up to you to use each day, each moment, each thought and action to go surely and steadily in the direction you wish to go.If the place you plan to reach is just a few hundred yards to the north of you, and yet you insist on always walking south, you'll have a very difficult time ever reaching it. Are your actions in each moment moving you toward the place you want to be, or are they moving you away?

There are certain things, wonderful things, positive, valuable and exciting things you intend to accomplish. Right this very moment is the time to be taking clear, definite steps toward them.

Rise above the distractions of the moment and look at the big picture of your life. Give yourself some meaningful perspective and then take a clear, objective look at the direction in which you're headed.

Are you letting the distractions and temptations determine your direction, or are you following your highest vision for what life can be? The sooner you start moving in the direction of your dreams, the sooner you will get there, and now is the perfect time to start.

-- Ralph Marston

**************
THE NEXT HOUR


In just one hour from now, your world can be an entirely different place than it is this moment. You can make it a better place as a result of what you do with this time that you now have.One hour from now, you can be well on your way toward your most treasured dream. One hour from now, you can experience the exhilarating freedom of moving surely and steadily beyond your most difficult challenge.

In just one hour from now, you can be looking back with satisfaction at how much you've been able to accomplish. In just one hour's time, your whole attitude can be a thousand times more positive and productive than it is even now.

Yes, you could spend the next hour wandering aimlessly through a fog of anger, despair or frustration, and if you wish you'll find plenty of excuses for doing so. Or you can really and truly live the next hour with energy and vitality, looking positively forward with the very best you have to give.

The next hour is absolutely critical, for it is the one over which you now have control. You have every reason, every resource and every ability to make it the very best you've ever lived.

-- Ralph Marston

[Debelli]

LEARN FROM IT

When the result is not what you expected, learn from it. When you get the result you want, learn from that too. Every experience is a wonderful opportunity to learn. Wisdom comes from learning the difficult lessons which experience teaches.

With wisdom comes respect, authority and effectiveness. You pay a hefty price for wisdom, and yet what you get is even more valuable than what you paid. It is indeed difficult to console yourself to "learning from this" when things fail to go your way. It is much easier to get angry, to get depressed, to complain or even to forget about the whole thing. But when you
do that, you end up paying the price without getting any value in return.

Whatever happens, let it increase your wisdom and, ultimately, your success. Whatever happens, get past the concerns of the moment and learn from it.

Copyright 2001 Ralph S. Marston

**************
THE BEST EVER

To make this new year the best year ever, start small. Start with one small moment, this one you now have, and put into it all your energy, your enthusiasm, your passion and commitment. Make full use of what you have right here and now, whatever it may be. Though it may not seem like much, this small moment can put you solidly on course for magnificent positive achievement.

To make this new year the best year ever, keep going. Though challenges and disappointments will certainly come your way, you do not have to go their way. At times you will know discouragement, yet there is no value in continuing to be discouraged. There is every reason to continue moving forward, no matter what, for that is the best response to every discouragement.

To make this new year the best year ever, take responsibility for it. Instead of making excuses or assigning blame, put your energy into focused, creative effort, into creating value, into living with purpose.

This new year can be the best year ever. Because it will be for you whatever you are willing to make it.

-- Ralph Marston

[Debelli]

INVEST IN HOPE

It's great to hope for the best, as long as you're also doing something to bring it about. Keep your hopes high, and yet do not allow them to become a substitute for your efforts.

Hope will work for you to the extent that you work for it. With hope and positive expectations behind your efforts, those efforts become vastly more effective. But hope can also work against you if the only thing it inspires you to do is to sit and wait. For then it just becomes an empty wish.

When you find yourself hoping for something, be sure to also find a way to invest the energy of your efforts in that hope. Give your hope a way to move you forward by doing all you can to move it forward.

Have the vision and the faith to hope for the very best. Then get busy, as you hold that hope in your heart, and make the effort necessary to make it happen.

-- Ralph Marston
**************
VALUE YOU PUT IN

Anything worth accomplishing is going to take some long, difficult and sustained effort to reach. Yet even though the goal may be a long way off, the benefits of working toward that goal begin to be yours immediately. For the value of accomplishment is in the accomplishing. The reward is not so much in what you obtain as in the person you become in the process of obtaining it.

No matter how difficult the journey may be, it makes all the difference in the world when that journey is leading to a destination you have chosen. By setting your sights upon where you intend to be five years from now, for example, and by committing yourself to following that path, you immediately add value to even this day and this very moment.

The commitment, the discipline, the focus and the effort are indeed their own rewards. And they begin to be yours the moment you decide to begin. Though at first you may wish you could reach the goal without having to work your way past the challenges, you'll soon realize that such a thing would be worthless. For it is precisely the value you put into any accomplishment that gives it value to you.

-- Ralph Marston

[Debelli]

LITTLE CHOICES, BIG RESULTS

If presented with the choice, would you choose to be healthy, wealthy, secure in your relationships, happy and fulfilled, or would you choose a life filled with illness, poverty and despair? That's an easy decision. Anyone would choose the first alternative without even thinking about it.

In fact, you do have that choice. It isn't usually presented to you in such a momentous way, and it never comes as a single choice. Rather, the quality and direction of your life depend upon the many, many choices you make, moment after moment, day after day, which build on one another to fashion the reality of your world.

The little choices you make, the ones that seem not to matter much, soon add up to produce big results. They directly affect the life you live. Over the course of every day, you're presented with an overwhelming number of choices. As you make these choices, keep yourself clearly focused on where you want your life to go. Make the appropriate choices, one by one, day after day, and you will be headed powerfully in the direction of your own choosing.

-- Ralph Marston

[Debelli]

THE NECESSARY EFFORT

We think of success as being glamorous and exciting. At its moment of culmination it often is. Yet for the most part, the essence of success is not so exciting. Usually, it can be downright tedious.

The actions, discipline and focus which lead to great achievement are themselves quite ordinary and unremarkable. Magnificent accomplishments are built mostly out of plain and pedestrian efforts. Even the greatest, most innovative ideas require ordinary hard work to implement. Without that work, they are nothing but unfulfilled dreams.

Are your dreams valuable enough to justify the effort needed to achieve them? Of course they are! Though the work itself could certainly be deemed difficult and tedious, in the context of reaching for your dreams it becomes as exciting and fulfilling as anything you could imagine.

Achievement requires plain old hard work. And because of that, it is available to anyone who is willing to do that work. Visualize your dreams and clarify your goals so that they will pull you steadily through all the effort needed to reach them.

-- Ralph Marston

[Debelli]

FAILURE


The surest recipe for failure, is to avoid failure. If you cannot accept the prospect that you might fail, then you will most certainly fail. To avoid failure, is to avoid even the possibility of success.

Accomplishment requires effort and commitment. And it requires risk. Accomplishment requires that you make decisions, set priorities, make choices, and take action. Those things are all very risky. They can lead to failure just as surely as to success.

Yet what is failure? It is merely another step toward success. When you don't get the results you want, at least you've learned how not to act. So, is failure really so bad?

Without failure there would be no success. Make the effort. Expect the best, and accept that it may be necessary to adjust your approach to improve your results.

Be willing to fail as you take action, and you're on the road to success.

-- Ralph Marston
*************

ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT

In an instant your attitude can change, when you decide to change it. It requires no money, no technical skill or knowledge, no preparation, no physical strength. You don't need anyone else's consent or assistance. It is free and easy and quickly accomplished.

When your attitude is holding you back, when it is making you miserable, when it is working against your efforts, change it. Just change it. Realize that a positive perspective will add value to any situation, and it costs you nothing. In fact, it pays to be positive. You can then clearly see opportunity, and you can see how to capitalize on it. You'll engender the support, respect and admiration of others. You'll be getting things done rather than worrying about how things are.

Your attitude is one of the most powerful tools available to you. You can control and direct it, and it can change the world for you. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain by being positive right now, no matter what is going on. Take a moment to inject yourself with a winning attitude. It will steadily lead you to a winning reality.

-- Ralph Marston
***************

SCRUTINY

What if everyone knew your secrets? Would that change the way you live your life, the way you conduct business, the way you act when no one is looking? You may not live and work under the close scrutiny of others, yet it pays to act as though you do.

Scrutiny imposes discipline. If we're certain that no one will ever know, we're more likely to take shortcuts. Yet when we know that others are watching, we're more scrupulous about everything. That is almost always a good thing.

Though the world is not always watching you, the fact is that every action you take has consequences, whether you act publicly or in secret. If what you do today could not stand up to the scrutiny of others, then someday it will catch up with you.

Live as though the world is watching, and reap the many rewards that discipline and integrity will bring.

-- Ralph Marston

[Debelli]

PERSEVERE

The greatest accomplishments happen when you get just a little way beyond the point where others would have quit. The difference between someone who enjoys magnificent success, and someone who just managed to get by, is the willingness to do whatever it takes, for as long as it takes, to reach the goal. How far away are you, from reaching your destination? If you quit before you get there you are infinitely far away. Make the commitment to keep going, and suddenly you are almost there.

Go beyond where others are willing to go. Put in the extra effort. The time will pass anyway, whether you use it or now. It just makes sense to make the most out of every moment. Give a little more than others are willing to give, be a little more patient, have a little more curiosity, take a little more responsibility, learn a few more things, and it will make all the difference in the world.

-- Ralph Marston
*******************

INVEST YOURSELF IN EXCELLENCE

What can you do better today than you did yesterday? Whatever you focus on improving, will improve. When you focus on building something, it will increase.

What can you do, what can you learn, who can you talk to, what can you create, what problem can you solve, what new perspective can you gain today? Every moment is an opportunity to move forward.

If you are not constantly growing, you're losing ground. Momentum only has two directions -- forward or backward. Standing still is not an option. Learn, grow and create. You're getting better and better every day. Your power and effectiveness are growing as you make the commitment to use each day to the fullest.

You have the very best of everything, within yourself. Give it a chance to get out and grow. Make your light shine brightly.

Invest yourself in excellence. A life fully lived is a life full of giving, of creative effort, of making a difference.

-- Ralph Marston
*************

Many men fail because they quit too soon. They lose faith when the signs are against them. They do not have the courage to hold on, to keep fighting in spite of that which seems insurmountable. If more of us would strike out and attempt the "impossible," we very soon would find the truth of that old saying that nothing is impossible... abolish fear and you can accomplish anything you wish.

******************************

WHAT HAVE YOU DECIDED?

A decision is more than a wish. When you decide to get something done, it will get done. When you truly decide, it's more than just a vague intention. It's more than saying you're going to do it. It's more than hoping to get it done someday. It is a commitment that you make to yourself. When you truly decide, it will happen.

What have you decided to do? Look around you. Look at your life. Look at the person you've become. Look at what you've accomplished and you'll see exactly what you've decided to do.

What will you decide to do now? You have the ability to achieve whatever you decide to achieve, to become the person you decide to become, to live the life you decide to live.

Yet ability alone will not get you there. All the resources in the world, by themselves, will not get you there. Opportunity alone will not get you there. You must decide to get yourself there. Then it will happen.

-- Ralph Marston

[Debelli]

START NOW

Start right now to fulfill your best possibilities. Start right now to achieve the goals you've set for yourself. Those goals, those possibilities are too important to let them go stale. There is something you can do right now to move toward them. Get busy and do it. There is some initial action you can take. Get busy and take it.

What have you always told yourself you would do? Who is the person you have always wanted to become? What is the lifestyle you've always wished for? Wishing is not enough. Intention is not enough. At some point you must take action to achieve those things you truly desire. That point is right now.

Now is the time you have available to you. Now is your opportunity to act. Now is when your goals, your dreams, your ambitions begin to become a reality.

There's no need to put off the fulfillment of you best possibilities for another moment. Start now, take action, keep going and experience the incomparable thrill of making your dreams a reality.

-- Ralph Marston
*************

Finish every day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be cumbered with your old nonsense.

This day is all that is good and fair. It is too dear, with its hopes and invitations, to waste a moment on the yesterdays.

Ralph Waldo Emerson
********************

A CHANGE IN ATTITUDE

There is enormous power in the fact that something so all-encompassing as your attitude can be changed so quickly. Your world can be an entirely different place than the world you lived in a few moments ago when your attitude toward it changes.

The key thing to keep in mind about your attitude is that it is yours. Though anything can influence it, you control it. You have final authority over your attitude. By exercising that control, you can literally change your world.

You say there are certain things which put you in a bad mood. Yet the truth is that you put yourself in a bad mood. It is a way in which you choose to respond. What if you were to make a different choice? Those "bad mood" things would no longer have control over you, and your precious time could be used moving forward rather than feeling miserable.

You say there are things which put you in a good mood. Yet again, that is a choice you make. What if you were to choose it more often? Imagine the positive possibilities!

-- Ralph Marston
*******************

BELIEVE IT

It pays to be a little skeptical in a world where people are constantly making all sorts of fantastic claims.

You certainly cannot believe all you read, or hear or see on television. Get-rich-quick schemes, miracle weight loss products, hot stock tips and other such things promise to quickly and easily solve problems with little or no effort. They seem so enticing, yet they usually turn out to be just enticement and nothing more. A healthy skepticism can save you from a lot of pain and disappointment.

When it comes to yourself and the possibilities for your own life and your ability to make those possibilities a reality, however, set your skepticism aside. What you believe is possible for your life, is possible. What you believe about yourself, is who you are. What you decide to accomplish, you will accomplish.

Allow yourself to believe in yourself. Allow yourself to believe that the best in life is possible for you. Let your belief infect, infuse and empower your thoughts, your actions, and your expectations. In your belief is the power to overcome whatever obstacles may stand in your way.

When the world promises you something, it's just common sense to temper your belief with a healthy skepticism. Yet when you make a promise to yourself, believe it with everything you have and you'll find a way to keep that promise.

-- Ralph Marston
*******************

EVERY STEP


Even the most difficult challenge can be broken down into finite, easily accomplished steps. People who only take some of those steps will fall short of the goal. Those who are willing to take all the steps will enjoy success.

Some people will often take a few steps and then stop, complaining about how unfair life is. Others will take some steps in one direction, grow bored, and then start off in another direction, only to become disillusioned.

The only way to success is to go all the way to success. Take one step after another until you are there. It doesn't take a genius to figure it out. It doesn't take exceptional strength to get it done. What it takes is desire and commitment. You have them if you choose to use them.

The path to any success is in front of you, and you are free to travel that path, one step at a time. Each step is within your reach. It's up to you to take them all, every one of them.

-- Ralph Marston

[DawnStorm]

I can talk all day but the rest is up to you
:chin:

[Debelli]

GOOD AND TIRED

At the end of this day you are going to be tired. The choice you're able to make is what kind of tired that will be. You can be tired from not doing much, from just getting by, and that is a weary feeling indeed. It's something that not even a good night's rest will take away.

Or, you can be tired after a day's worth of positive effort and accomplishment, while at the same time being satisfied and fulfilled. Then, after a good night's sleep, you can wake up tomorrow feeling energized and enthusiastic about moving forward again.

There is nothing that can compare with the sense of accomplishment that comes after a day filled with positive, focused, effective effort. In just a few hours you can be enjoying the delightful, empowering experience of being good and tired.

You're going to be tired anyway, so doesn't it make sense to get something positive and valuable out of it? You're going to move through this day anyway, so doesn't it make sense to move forward with effective, enthusiastic effort and accomplishment?

Use this day to get yourself good and tired, and experience for yourself just how great that can be.

Ralph Marston


**************

DETERMINED

It is true that discouragement can lead to defeat. Yet discouragement can just as surely lead to determination and increased resolve. Discouragement can drain the energy from you, or it can infuse you with fresh new vitality to push on ahead. It all depends on how you choose to respond to the discouragement that comes your way.

Every effort of any significance will meet with some discouragement. It may often seem that you are burdened with more than your share of it. But is that discouragement really a burden or is it instead a blessing in disguise? You can indeed turn it into a blessing if you so desire.

For the same things that make it so discouraging can also be positively compelling reasons to move forward. Powerful determination and unstoppable commitment come, more often than not, from discouragement that has been turned in a positive direction.

You cannot avoid discouragement, but then you really wouldn't want to. For you can choose to take it and let it make you that much stronger, that much more determined, and that much more successful.

Ralph Marston
********************
Decisiveness

If you could live your life backwards it would be easy to avoid mistakes. You could simply look back on the mistakes, clearly and unmistakably see them coming, and move in another direction.

In the real world, where time moves only forward, avoiding mistakes is not nearly so easy to do. For the only way to completely avoid mistakes is to completely avoid taking action.

But that, of course would be the biggest mistake of all. For although you would never make any mistakes, you would never move forward either, and never get anything done.

In order to accomplish anything, you have to accept the fact that you're going to make some mistakes. Of course you would never set out to intentionally make a mistake, and it's wise to take reasonable precautions against them.

And then, have the courage to move forward, to make definite decisions, to take specific actions, even though some will turn out to be mistakes. When the mistakes do come, that very same decisiveness will get you quickly past them.

-- Ralph Marston