"Our boundaries are born, live and die in our minds"
- J.Sewell Perkins

There are no boundaries other than the ones you create for yourself. Granted, there are laws we agree to abide by and rules of general conduct to which we must subscribe if we want to live in a specific jurisdiction. You can't go dig up your neighbors rose bushes because you'd like to have them in your yard.

There are, however, no boundaries to what we can accomplish in life. As long as we are doing no harm to another, there are no limits. It seems that many are born in a box or placed in one at an early age. We know the limits of the box and seldom, if ever, venture outside our box.

If when you were five or six someone told you that you can't do anything right, and you believed them, you probably still have that feeling in the back of your mind. If that's the case, you're living in a box called "I can't do anything right" and as a result, you probably don't - at least not "right enough" to meet your perception of the standards of the person who originally planted that thought in your mind.

Take a look in the mirror. You're not a kid anymore. You get to decide who and what you are, what your boundaries are and you can do it without making the person who planted it there wrong.

We each see things differently. The person who is responsible for who and what you are and whether or not you live with unreasonable boundaries (the box) is you. What someone said years ago was their babbling and chances are they have no idea what they said. It meant nothing to them and you cannot allow it to mean anything to you. You are now in charge of your life and the only boundaries you have are the ones you place on yourself.

"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage."
- Anais Nin

While all words, phrases and thoughts are open to being interpreted differently by different mindsets, courage is a word that for many suggests the macho heroism of "Super Heroes" such as Superman, Spiderman, The Incredible Hulk and even Wonder Dog.

Courage, however, is something so much stronger that all that. True courage is showing up every day when things aren't going as well as we'd like them to be. Almost anyone can show up when they're on top of their game, but strike out a few times and many want to run and hide.

You can run, surely... but you cannot hide. Sure you can choose to ignore phone calls, not answer the door and hide out in your bedroom eating your favorite ice cream right out of the box. The problem is, it not only doesn't make anything better but, really makes things worse. All you wind up with is a sugar high and a few extra inches in places where you least want them.

Real courage is being able to face yourself squarely in the mirror and see the person you really are - the person trapped inside you begging to get out. Have the courage to free yourself from self-imprisonment and use the energy you would spend wallowing in misery, eating a half-gallon of chocolate marshmallow ice cream, to unlock the prison door and rejoin the world.

"If you knock long enough and loud enough at the gate, you are sure to wake up somebody."
- Longfellow

Persistently knocking at the gate is a great metaphor for many of life's situations. Whether you're in sales, or just dealing with people on a regular basis, persistence always pays off. Some people approach gates, and life, in such a tentative manner that it's difficult be believe they ever wake anyone to open the gate for them.

To be successful, we must be persistent. It's important to know what you want and go after it with great passion. There are always obstacles and sometimes we must enroll someone else in order to get what we want. If that sounds like an overwhelming undertaking, just be aware that in any interaction between two people, the one with the stronger self concept will always prevail.

"If we don't discipline ourselves, the world will do it for us."
- William Feather

Just how will the world discipline us if we don't discipline ourselves? For starters, you'll spend time watching successful people be, have and do all the things of which you only dream. You'll see others living your dream as you go to the back of the line completely unnoticed.

People like to be around winners. Whether they have hopes of learning what winners know or just want to hobnob with the winning element is of no matter. Self-discipline has its rewards among which are:

Respect of others
Resources to afford you a great life
Freedom and lifestyle
The satisfaction of knowing what you've accomplished
The ability to help nonprofits that are important to you
No more worrying about bills and where your next dollar is coming from A sound night's sleep
A happy life
Total freedom

If anything in that list appeals to you...get busy working on self-discipline.

"Expect your every need to be met. Expect the answer to every problem, expect abundance on every level."
- Eileen Caddy

Actually, you can expect abundance to show up in your life because it is already yours if you believe it is. If you have not yet attracted abundance in all areas: health, wealth, wisdom, and love - why not. Those things are yours and if you expect them and work toward them they will show up. You want all those things - some more than others but to have true abundance you must have them all.

Health:Wellness is important because without it you won't enjoy any other areas of abundance. We want wellness but is what we're putting on our forks supporting wellness? If you're eating frequently at the golden arches, you aren't supporting your wellness. Do some research and learn which foods are not only delicious but life supporting as well.

Wealth:Wealth probably tops the list of everyone's dreams of abundance. It is not, however, the most important. If you follow my writings or have heard me speak on this topic, you know the best way to become wealthy. When you do the thing you most love to do, and do it well, you are on your way to wealth...whatever wealth means to you. The only limits are the ones you place on yourself.

Wisdom:Wisdom is different from knowledge. Knowledge is what you know. Wisdom is knowing how to put your knowledge to the best possible use.

Love:Love comes in many forms. Whether it's romantic love you seek or the love of a child, love is love. The only way to get love is to give love. It's important to note that love is not something you can demand. It must be given to you freely. It is always something you give. You get love when those you love give you their love in return.

The point here is that abundance is yours. You cannot, however, sit in a chair, think positive thoughts and have it show up. You must take action to claim it. The above steps are steps you must take to claim it.

Someone asked me one time, "If all those things are mine, why do I have to claim them?" You may have money in the bank but you have to go to the bank to claim it. The bank isn't going to guess that you may want money today and send it to you. The Universe isn't going to send you health, wealth, wisdom and love until you step up and claim them.

"Every act you have ever performed since the day you were born was performed because you wanted something."
- Andrew Carnegie

The question is - do you know what it is you want? If so, how did you arrive at the decision? It's important that we know not only what we want but why we want it. To do otherwise could lead you down a path and to a destination at which you don't really want to be.

If you're driving your car and make a wrong turn, you simply turn around, go back to the site of the wrong turn and catch the correct turn...no big deal. Such a minor thing probably wouldn't even make you late for an appointment. Making a wrong turn in your life's purpose, however, is entirely another matter.

We probably all know of people who have changed careers in mid-life. Many have done it quite successfully. I coach many such people and while I condone their decisions and actually help them arrive at such a decision, it would be so much more rewarding if they had known much earlier in life what they had wanted.

Many such people were, at a very young age, groomed for the family business or a career that mom or dad wish they had pursued but did not. People fail to understand that our children do not belong to us, not in the strict sense of the word. They, just as you, come into this world as precious little souls that are entrusted to us to love, protect and encourage. Children are the future and we are their present.

They, just as each of us, arrive here with a talent and/or a mission. We all know at some level, deep inside ourselves what we are here to do. Every act we perform, while it may not seem related, is a move toward our passion, the thing we most love doing because the thing we most love doing is our destiny and will make us the happiest and provide for us financially better than any other thing.

"As you plan your day, be aware that today is yesterday's tomorrow."
- The Secret Abundance Files

Got that? Today is yesterday's tomorrow. Today is the day you spoke of yesterday as the day on which everything will be done. Putting things, important things, off until tomorrow has become a national pastime. I wouldn't be surprised to see it become an Olympic event.

All joking aside, you know you cannot continually put things off until tomorrow. The problem with that thinking is that tomorrow really does not ever come. It's that illusive day that stays just 24 hours ahead of us and as a result it never really comes.

This all serves to make the point that technically there is no tomorrow. Like it or not, what ever needs to be done, needs to be done right now, here, in the here and now.

"Ambition"

What? No quotation, no words of great wisdom? Ambition is a word of great wisdom. The dictionary defines ambition as follows:

Ambition: an earnest desire for some type of achievement or distinction, as power, honor, fame, or wealth, and the willingness to strive for its attainment

When we read a definition like that we're all eager to claim ambition as one of our character traits, aren't we. The fact is, however, that ambition has come to be almost a so-called four-letter word. All too often I hear it referred to as a disgusting thing. That saddens me. Ambition is a good thing. Without it you probably wouldn't get out of bed each morning. You'd turn on the TV, get a plate of bonbons and a glass of wine and sit in bed all day watching Leave it to Beaver re-runs.

"Ambition" is a good word, gone bad. I have no doubt that is a result of those who have none, finding fault with those who do. If you're an ambitious person don't let the sluggards make you feel as though there is something wrong with "an earnest desire for some type of achievement or distinction, as power, honor, fame or wealth, and the willingness to strive for its attainment"

Some other words that are making their way into the hall of shame are: wealth, prosperity and abundance. People who have worked for and attained these things through ambition have no reason to hang their heads in shame because others don't have the drive and ambition to be all they could be.

"All accomplishments are manifested by first holding the vision of them in your mind."
- J.Sewell Perkins

All manifestation begins in the mind. When you seek to manifest anything you must first be able to hold the vision of it in your mind. If you cannot think it, it cannot be.

It would be great if the vision were all that is necessary but it is not. We must put together a plan and work toward our vision. More importantly, we must expect to accomplish. When you can clearly see, even live the accomplishment in your mind and put smart effort behind it, it will be manifested.

"You can never rise higher than your self-image."
- The Secret Abundance Files

How many times and in how many different ways do we need to hear this to get it? You absolutely can be, have and do anything and everything you want to be, have and do... as long as you believe you can.

Why would you believe otherwise? There is nothing complicated about living a successful life (a successful life is whatever you consider a successful life to be). What stops you from believing all the really great things about yourself instead of focusing on your lesser attributes?

No matter how you see yourself today, you have the ability to change that picture. Did you get that? YOU HAVE THE ABILITY TO CHANGE THAT PICTURE!!!!!!!

I've never given homework with a Today's Thought but I am going to do that today. Here's your assignment:

Make two separate lists, one listing all your physical attributes... how you look, how you dress, the way you carry yourself, your posture, etc. The second list should contain a list of all the things you do really well... you're likeable, smart, clever, outgoing, you really like people and they like you, you're well spoken, good with numbers/good with words, etc.

Now here's the catch - don't go get two sheets of paper, one for each list. I also don't want you to make you lists on the computer. Trust me when I tell you it makes a difference whether you write things on paper with your pen as opposed to simply keying it into your computer. To carry out this homework assignment you must go buy two notebooks (sure you can go buy expensive journals if you feel the need). The point is, you need to keep an ongoing list of all the great things about you as a person and an ongoing list of all your talents and capabilities.

What if you don't have anything to put in either of your notebooks? Don't be silly... of course you do. Give up your position of being your worst enemy and become your best friend... then get busy on your lists.

Get serious about your life! You only have one life, we know of for sure, on this planet. Isn't it time to begin the life you were meant to live? If not now, when?

 

"What you plant now, you will harvest later."

- Og Mandino

Harvesting before we plant goes against all of nature. If you seek success take a page from nature's book and study it well.

Any good farmer could give you the so-called key to success. Most farmers, at least the successful ones, are farming because it's what they love. While you take your green beans, zucchini and tomatoes for granted, before you were able to have those things on your table a farmer put many hours into planning, planting, tending and harvesting the crops.

Unlike those of us in a more business-like setting, if the farmer takes shortcuts they show up big time. He must plan his work and work his plan in addition to dealing with droughts, floods, insect infestations and the like. There is also the possibility that some uncaring or unscrupulous grower will wind up with a salmonella problem and, as happened just a few years ago, all U.S. spinach crops were destroyed because the government agencies couldn't trace the problem to a particular grower.

Suppose your problem is that not enough people are buying your widgets. Few widgets are known to have caused illness or death so my guess is that either you hate the widget business and don't know how to get out of it or you've decided to keep the business, eek out what money you can from it and coast.

When you get serious about your business you'll take the steps to find the real reason it's not supporting you in the style to which you'd like to become accustomed. My guess is you'll find the answer to be - when you begin to put the love, planning, time, money and effort into your business that the farmer puts into his, it will yield a bountiful harvest.

"What worries you, masters you."

- John Locke

Worrying is not only a waste of time, it's downright dangerous. When you spend any time at all worrying that something will or won't happen, you are actually attracting the very thing you don't want.

The act of worrying can actually consume you to the point that it becomes an obsession. It can penetrate all your thoughts and actions and in short... become your master. It can also keep you from all the positive things you don't have time to manifest because you are focused on (worrying about) what you don't want.

"Think of yourself as on the threshold of unparalleled success. A whole clear, glorious life lies before you."
- Andrew Carnegie

When you see yourself there, you'll be there before too long. There is nothing standing in your way but your thoughts. Until you know that success is yours and claim it, you won't have it.

Everything you've ever wanted to be, have or do will be realized once you are willing to see it as part of your life.

If not you, who? If not now, when?

"The world is full of abundance and opportunity, but far too many people come to the fountain of life with a sieve instead of a tank car... a teaspoon instead of a steam shovel. They expect little and as a result they get little."
- Ben Sweetland

Interesting quote, isn't it? If it sounds ridiculous to you, maybe before you laugh you should ask yourself if you're settling for less than you could have from life. Do you face each day of your life with great expectations or are you concerned that someone will laugh at you when they see your tank car and steam shovel. The fact that everyone else shows up with sieve, or at best a teaspoon, is not your concern.

It's all about expectation. If you don't expect much from life, you are not likely to get much. You may be able to fool others, but you cannot fool yourself. If you speak of the abundance you seek while secretly knowing it will never be yours... it will never be yours. That's the bad news but the good news is that when you truly believe what you want is already yours and all you need to do is claim it... it becomes yours.

If you're one of those people who are afraid to expect too much for fear you'll be disappointed - get over it. Wouldn't you rather experience an occasional disappointment that keep coming up short every time?

"Technically it is not possible to waste time. When we procrastinate, what we are wasting is ourselves."
- The Secret Abundance Files

Ouch! When you think about it in those terms... procrastination becomes much more than just a word we use to explain, usually to ourselves, why we're not doing what we know we should do to accomplish our goals.

Do you make a daily plan? I'm not talking working daily on your long-range goals. I'm talking about a daily plan... written instructions from you to you. My experience as both a Life & Business Development Coach has convinced me that most people who actually have a goal have only a long-range goal. That's great but what do you need to be doing today to get closer the success you seek.

Whether we're talking about personal or business goals it's all the same. When you don't have a specific list of things that need to be done today, tomorrow, the next day and all the days after that, it easy to do nothing or maybe go watch Leave It to Beaver re-runs.

If you truly love what you're doing you will relish each moment you invest involved in the process of moving toward total abundance. If you don't love what you do, perhaps it's time to adjust the way you're doing it. Maybe if that doesn't work, you may want to consider finding something you do love doing... otherwise you are wasting yourself and that would be tragic.

"Start your child's day with love and encouragement and end the day the same way."
- Zig Ziglar

If you grew up on a steady diet of love and encouragement, you are among the fortunate. If you didn't, if you received constant criticism and/or were constantly told all the things you couldn't do or didn't do right, I'm truly sorry.

As an adult, having had that sort of childhood can hold us back from all the things we want to do, have and be. It is possible, however, to overcome our "Original Faulty Programming" and eventually begin to be successful in all things. If you're interested in exploring the possibilities that exist for finally creating the life of abundance you seek, Click Here.

In the meantime, if you have children stop pointing out everything they are doing wrong and begin to reinforce and praise them for everything they do right... remember, they're children... almost everything they do is right.

"Let your imagination release your imprisoned possibilities."
- Robert H. Schuller

What a cruel joke it would be on mankind if we were imbued with the ability to visualize things that could never be. If you can see it in your mind's eye, you have the ability to materialize it.

Whether or not you realize it and/or are willing to admit it, you prove the above multiple times throughout any given day. The difficulty, the reason you're not getting what you say you want, lies in the fact that you insist on entertaining (somewhere in the dark, well hidden part of your mind) the thought that while others can have what they want from life - you cannot.

That's proof positive! The simple fact that you've chosen to entertain the thought that you cannot be, have or do what others be, have or do proves conclusively that you create your life with your thoughts.

Here's an interesting idea - why not begin to believe you, too, can be have and do anything you choose and see what happens.

"Knowledge is the key to success; knowing how to use that knowledge turns the key in the lock and action opens the door."
- The Secret Abundance Files

When you don't know, that's one thing. It's entirely another thing when you don't know and don't know you don't know - or worse yet, you're sure you do know but don't. Don't fool yourself. Knowledge without action is useless and action without knowledge is dangerous.

As a Life and Business Development Coach I encounter this syndrome regularly. People come to me complaining that they've spent their lives taking courses and reading books and although they now know all they need to know they are still not as successful as they had hoped to be.

Such thinking is akin to watching an exercise CD and expecting that having done so will result in weight loss and a well toned body. You do know that won't work, don't you?

"It's sad if you limit yourself by your thoughts; it's worse if you limit yourself by the thoughts someone else has of you."
- The Secret Abundance Files

All too frequently a new client comes to me all but suicidal because he or she has come to the conclusion that his/her life has been a waste and there is no hope of turning it around... not at the ripe old age of 32. I honestly don't know whether to laugh or cry. That's such a sad thing... but not as sad as it gets.

Nine times out of ten the person sitting across the desk from me has come to this state of absurdity based on something someone or several some ones has said or done. Sometimes it's a husband or wife who announces that the marriage is over. Often it's a boss or colleague who has been taking pot shots and putting this individual down publicly.

In virtually no time at all this person has allowed the thoughts others have about him/her to limit all potential. It's bad enough when you allow your own limiting thoughts about you keep you from all you could have and be in life... it's so much worse when you let the thoughts of another limit your potential.

"It's not how much money you make that's important; it's how well you manage it."
- The Secret Abundance Files

If you're feeling cash poor these days or if your financial situation makes you feel like the biggest loser on the planet... take heart.

Yesterday in doing some financial research for Financial Freedom, a new program Success Coaches Institute is putting together, my assistant stumbled on this list and thought I'd be interested in it. While I was aware that many seemingly well-to-do folks experience cash shortages from time to time and knew that many do wind up declaring bankruptcy and starting over... this list of bankruptcies surprised me.

Until one understands, really understands, money there is little chance of being able to manage it properly. One's income level has nothing to do with one's ability to manage money.

Most of the celebrities on this list not only recovered financially, but many went on to accumulate great wealth.

"It's easy to be a critic, but being a doer requires effort, risk, and change."
- Wayne W. Dyer

It's easy to critique those who expended effort, took risks, made huge life changes and failed. The important thing to remember here is that we will never fail until we give up. If you go for it 100 times and still don't hit the mark, all that means is that you've now established 100 ways that don't work and you are that much closer to finding a way it will work.

Just as coins have two sides, heads and tails, failure is the other side of success, wealth is the other side of poverty and knowledge is the other side of ignorance and the list is endless. The point is that when you experience anything you are just a flip of the coin away from its antithesis.

Keep in mind that all things including you are energy and that energy attracts like energy. The degree of energy and belief you create in your quest for whatever it is you seek will determine how soon what you seek will begin to seek you.

"Heaven on Earth is a choice you must make, not a place you must find."
- Dr. Wayne Dyer

It is said that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and I must agree with that. Consider also, however, that your entire world (as you perceive it) is in your mind. We can each describe something and to the casual observer it would be obvious that we were both describing the same things. Actually, though, no two people see something the same way.

While some would tell you that Earth is a heavenly place, others will assure you it's a living hell. Everything is colored, or at least clouded, by your individual thoughts about it.

If you want to be happy and successful it's important that you always see the best in every situation. Let those who can see nothing but hell have their hell. You... can choose Heaven on Earth.

Well, of course! No one is born successful. I hear people talk with resentment toward those who were born with a so-called silver spoon in their mouths. All that can ever mean is that Daddy had money. Being born to wealth in no way ensures success. Actually, I've had clients who were the sons of wealthy parents who by the time they came to me were in the process of drinking themselves to death.

By far the more fortunate are those who grew up in a family where there was never any doubt in their minds that they were loved unconditionally. If they had the added bonus of parents who programmed them for success... they come to adulthood "way ahead of the game."

If you, like the majority of adults, were the recipient of "Original Faulty Programming" there is still hope. You can start today... in this moment... to see that programming for what it was and move past it to the life you've dreamed of living - the life you've always hoped would somehow be yours some day.

TODAY IS THAT DAY!

 

"Don't let anyone tell you, you can't get there from here. You can get there from anywhere if you believe you can."
- The Secret Abundance Files

There? Where is there? Actually, it doesn't matter where there is. If you want to get there, wherever it is, you can do it. The only thing that can stop you is your belief system.

What is your belief system? Does it support all the things you want to be have and do? If not, maybe it's time to replace your old system with one that serves your goals and aspirations.

It's not complex... in fact it is so simplistic that we tend to put much effort into making life complicated. Give it up! Let go of your old beliefs and begin to believe that the only thing standing between you and the life you want is you.

Get out of the way!!!

 

"Change is the essence of life. Be willing to surrender what you are for what you could become."

- The Secret Abundance Files

The mere suggestion that you'd want to hold on to the past or a current way of life that's getting you nowhere is ridiculous, isn't it? Or is it?

How can you be expected to win against an enemy that is not yet fully identified? The answer is, YOU CAN'T! Until you identify the enemy or enemies that stand between you and success, you have no control over them.

Having coached literally thousands of people over my coaching career I've come to learn that there are two main enemies holding everyone back to some degree. Enemy #1 is the person you see when you look in the mirror. That's right... YOU are your own worst enemy, a saboteur that stands ready to prevent your success at all costs. Enemy #2 is comfort. Yes, comfort cons too many talented and capable people into letting a good life keep them from having a really great life.

"An attitude of gratitude is the best cure for unhappiness."
- J.Sewell Perkins

It is just not possible to hold two opposing thoughts simultaneously. While it's possible to alternate thoughts in your mind, why would you choose (and it is a choice) to entertain thoughts that don't empower you?

Our thoughts are continually spiraling. Here's the good news, actually great news. You have the ability to choose your thoughts. In every moment of every day your thoughts are the ones you choose. When your thoughts are positive, empowering and uplifting your mood spirals upward. On the other side of the coin is the downward spiral. Choosing to throw yourself a pity party sends all your thoughts in a rapid downward spiral.

When your mind is filled with an attitude of gratitude it spirals upward and that's where you want your thoughts to be. If you are not already doing so, begin today to keep a Gratitude Journal. Make it a point to write in it each day listing all the things in your life for which you are grateful.

No matter where you are along this journey called life, there is something for which to be grateful. Hey, you're still breathing, aren't you? When you are grateful for all you have instead of whining about what you don't have, your life will begin to become a magnificent experience.

"Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least."
- The Secret Abundance Files

The important thing here is to know for sure which is which. What matters should always get our attention and focus, but at the same time, if we don't really know what matters most, how do we place our focus.

The first step in deciding this issue is to decide to make a list of the most important things in your life. Next make a list of the least important things. Don't worry about what others think of your list; it's for your eyes only and is nothing you should consider sharing with others.

After reading an article I had written that is similar to this writing, a client phoned me to ask for an extra appointment that week. She sounded highly stressed and refused to discuss her stress on the phone. She had to have a one-on-one, face to face appointment. I gave her the appointment.

Arriving in my office still quite upset, she fixed herself a cup of her favorite tea (I keep a tea closet for my clients) and broke into tears. Hoping to stop the tears and get a smile out of her I kiddingly told her that if she kept crying in her tea she'd make it too salty to drink. She cried harder and louder.

When I finally got her settled down I was shocked to hear what had her so upset. She had attended a workshop I had done about a month earlier. As part of the workshop the participants were asked to spend a week making two lists such as I've described above. Even though they had all been told to keep their lists to themselves, she called another participant in the workshop to get another opinion as to whether her list was good or not.

As things tend to go sometimes, the person she called found fault with my client's lists, telling her that she had things in the matter most column that really needed to be in the matters least column.

What matters most to you is what matters most to you and what matters least, matters least. There is no right or wrong answer. Someone stranded in the desert would be more likely to value water than someone who lived near a clean, clear spring.

What my client did was, in essence, ask someone else how she should think in terms of what is and isn't important. You, and only you, know what's important to you and you do not need the approval of anyone else to validate your choices

"Allow your hopeful imagination, not your painful past, to create your future."
- J.Sewell Perkins

It's rather like going through life with a hangnail, only it's an emotional hangnail. If you've ever torn or split a fingernail you know the degree to which you are aware of it and how quickly and easily it becomes a distraction until you remedy the situation.

With what I refer to as an emotional hangnail you are not as aware of it. You know you are stopped or held back by something; you just don't know what. Just as with the torn fingernail, though, you are aware that something is bothering you, getting in your way... but you're not sure what it is. In lieu of an accurate answer it's not unlikely for you to assume it's you; something must be wrong with you.

That assumption may be accurate but in most instances the problem is something that became planted in your mind that you don't know is there. If you knew what it is you'd hopefully employ measures to end it. Not knowing, though, you will continue to blame yourself and by so doing you are allowing unacknowledged pain of the past to keep you in pain.

Once you get rid of the pain of the past, and only then, will you be able to use your hopeful imagination to create the future you want and deserve.

If you'd like help in discovering what is holding you back, I suggest you check this out... Click Here!

"There comes that mysterious meeting in life when someone acknowledges who we are and what we can be and it ignites the circuits of our highest potential."

- Rusty Berkus

This is interesting in that it ignores the possibility of our being able to look deep within ourselves and ignite our own flame. Others can inspire and guide us but it is we, ourselves that must strike the match and light our flame.

I must say, however, that if you've not been able to light your own flame and you meet someone else who inspires you and/or has the ability to either light your flame or help you light it yourself... let 'em do it.

Once the spark that has been dormant and well hidden in you since birth is ignited, you will be amazed at the talent and ability that will emerge.

Go ahead, ignite that spark and become a beautiful glow in the world.

 

"No age or time in life, no position or circumstance, has a monopoly on success. Any age is the right age to start doing."
- The Ultimate Coach, PDC Institute

No matter where you are or what you are currently doing, there is room for improvement and advancement. Growing is an inevitability of nature. Just as we start life as babies and grow into manhood or womanhood, so it is that just as our bodies grow, we must continue to grow in both mind and spirit as well.

"Never put anything off until tomorrow because tomorrow never really comes."
- J.Sewell Perkins (from The Secret Abundance Files)

How many times have you convinced yourself that tomorrow will be soon enough to get it done? You've heard this many times before and the question is do you really get it - I mean do you really get it? The point is - today is the tomorrow you were talking about yesterday. If something is important enough to be done, it needs to be done now.

When you really stop to think about it, today is the first day of the future you were planning for about five or ten years ago. How many more days, months, years, decades are you going to wait?

Whether we're talking about finding your ultimate success or a happy and fulfilled life, if you don't seize this moment you are gambling that there will be more moments, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, decades etc. in which to begin to live a fulfilled life. What if tomorrow really does not come?

"If the doorway to success seems too narrow for you to get through, consider ditching all your baggage."
- The Secret Abundance Files

Visualize this: There is a doorway and standing facing it is a person. Well, look closer, I do believe that's you standing there. Can you visualize yourself standing there? I can see you clearly.

In each hand is a piece of luggage... sometimes called baggage. The bags are packed beyond full. No way they'd fit through the scanner at the airport, bulging as they are. Anyway, there you are at the doorway. I see your success... all you've ever wanted out of life clearly on the other side of the doorway. You can see it too, and being that close to it you are eager to get to it. You've never been this close before. All you need to do is step through the open door. Yes, it's open. That's not a glass door through which you were seeing your success there, waiting for you. Fact is... the door to success is always open. This is it! This will be your finest moment, the moment in which you finally have it all.

You move forward in excited anticipation and start to walk through the door. Wait, what's happening you're still on the same side of the door? Why aren't you walking through to success? Oh, I see... the baggage you have in each of your hands is making it impossible for you to fit through that doorway.

You cannot get through the doorway. You're so close, just one step away from success and all you've always wanted. You can't pass up this opportunity. You may never again be this close to success, abundance and everything you so desperately want. There must be a way to get through that door. You realize that if you just dropped your baggage you could get through the door.

So what are you going to do? It's clear you cannot walk through the door to success with your baggage. The question is... are you willing to drop the baggage you've been lugging around all your life? Are you willing to let go of all the hurt and pain of the past that you have so neatly packed in those bags and dragged around with you all these years? Well, are you?

"As you plan your week, keep in mind that in just two days from now yesterday will be tomorrow."

- The Secret Abundance Files

The point to be made here is, among other things, that tomorrow really never comes. By the time the tomorrow we speak of today arrives it will be today and the today on which we spoke of it will then be yesterday.

If this sounds to you to be just so much silliness, be it so. The fact is that it is sheer silliness to spend today announcing to others or convincing yourself that what needs to be done in the here and now can be put off until tomorrow. Then when tomorrow is a new today there is always the today on the so-called tomorrow for us to put off once again what we would have served ourselves well to have done yesterday.

What's the point of this? DO IT NOW!

"Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after another."
- Walter Elliott

When most people think of perseverance they envision a long, drawn out and arduous race. Everything, whether it's an actual race such as the Boston Marathon or a race to the top of your game, can be run incrementally.

We could compare it to driving across the U.S. from New York to California. Just to think about driving all those miles could be enough to make one decide against the trip (unless you're someone who would rather drive that do almost anything else). Breaking it down, however, into a series of mini trips will take you to your destination just the same as someone who drives day and night to get there. The one who drives straight through may get there ahead of you but may well be too tired to be effective when he arrives.

Incremental perseverance in everything will take you to success just the same as someone who goes for the long haul rather than breaking the journey into many short trips.

"No day in which you learn something is a complete loss."
- David Eddings

Hopefully you learn something of importance each day. I can't imagine a day in which I don't gather a wealth of knowledge. If you make it a point to ask people about themselves and their business endeavors they will, in many cases, tell you things you had never dreamed of knowing.

This process serves two purposes; the first is to let the person with whom you're speaking know you are interested in who they are and what they do; the second is to gain a wealth of knowledge from someone who may know many things you don't know.

Become a seeker of information. It is a fact that in all of life we find what we are looking for. Seek information and as you seek it, it will begin to seek you.

"Life is like a hand of cards. You have to play the hand you're dealt, you can't win by folding, and sometimes you must take chances in order to win."
- Mike Conner

Often when I use this quote I'm challenged by those who insist that it is contrary to what I usually tell you. It is not! I'm known to insist that you can be anything you want to be and there are those who argue that if you're born ugly you cannot be pretty and if you're born sickly you cannot be well. The fact is you can.

The way you can change the hand you're dealt is to study the hand and play it well. Too often when, for example, one is sick or seems sickly one believes him or herself to be powerless. God forbid they go to a doctor who lives in a world of no possibility. By that I mean a world in which, if there is no known pharmaceutical for the malady at hand. While it seems hopeless, there is always hope.

Example: If you're a slow learner and seem to have been since early childhood, I submit that the problem is less that you have difficulty learning and more that you have found yourself attempting to study something in which you have no interest.

So you do have to play the hand you're dealt, and you surely can turn that hand into a powerful win that will astound all the skeptics and naysayers. Take chances and use all you know and can learn to overcome any of the so-called obstacles. Remember the line from that Kenny Rogers song, The Gambler? It goes something like You gotta know when to hold 'em. You gotta know when to fold 'em. You gotta know when to walk away. You gotta know when to run. That's just four of the different choices and in all cases at least one of them could serve you well. It's just a matter of going within and making the right decision. Be willing to take chances and if one thing doesn't work, move on to the next.

"Just as a muscle is strengthened by use, so is courage."
- The Secret Abundance Files

This quote brings to mind the old saying, "If you don't use it, you lose it." Amanda Curtis Kane at Success Coaches Institute always says, "The more you do something the more expert you become at it."

Whether or not you spend any time building your muscles, do what it takes to build your courage. Courage is needed in so many areas of our lives. Sometimes, just being able to face the challenges of the day takes much courage.

If you practice courage in small things, before too long you will have built your courage just as you would build a muscle and will have all the courage you need to face each of life's situations, overcome them and accomplish your goals.

"Give to the world the best you have and the best will come back to you."
- Madeline Bridges

Life is too short to play small. What do you accomplish by holding back and watching the real go-getters pass you by and claim the prize? I write a lot about "planning backwards" and the reason for that is that by doing so you stand a much better chance of knowing and seeing where it is you really want to go, be or do.

By actually visiting the final goal in your mind and convincing yourself you're already there... think about it... when you do actually go there in the flesh it will be familiar to you and therefore much easier to dwell there. You gain nothing by holding back or doing just enough to get by and/or feel safe. On the other hand, by putting forth your very best what you will get back is the very best life has to offer.

"Fear less, hope more. Eat less, chew more. Whine less, breathe more. Talk less, say more. Hate less, love more... And all good things are yours."
- Swedish Proverb

I love this proverb. It's all over the place, covering all aspects of life:

As we know, when you spend time in fear, you draw fearful things to you.

Chewing your food well is important for two reasons. The chewing actually releases digestive juices and makes digestion easier. Additionally, when you spend more time chewing, you shovel less food into your mouth.

When we encounter the whiners we tend to ask them if they'd like some cheese to go with their whine. As for the breathing aspects of the statement, we tend to take short and shallow breaths. Deep breathing supplies our bodies with the oxygen we need for wellness.

Hopefully no one reading this is silly enough to waste time and energy on hating anything or anyone. Hate is an ugly thing that harms the hater much more than the hated.

Learn to find the best in everything and everyone. Love is the great healer for both the lover and the loved.

"Everyone is self made, but only the successful ones are ever willing to admit it."
- J.Sewell Perkins

Interesting, isn't it? When we are successful we have no difficulty letting people know that "we" did it. When, however, we don't reach the pinnacle of success to which we aspired... there are multitudes to blame. This, at an adult level, (if we can really call it adult) is akin to "The dog ate my homework."

Fortunately, deep within ourselves, we know the truth. We can tell others what we think they will believe... and some may actually buy it. They, however, are the ones who also have the habit of not taking personal responsibility for their lives.

Trust me when I tell you... success is so much easier than failure.

"Don't waste time counting your days - instead spend time making your days count."
- Amanda Curtis Kane

How important these words are! Unfortunately, all too often clients come to me to lament the fact that they are "whatever" age and feel they have not used the days of their lives as well as they could have. How unfortunate that is... not the fact that they've not used their time on this earth well, but the fact that they have chosen to spend the time they have left in a lament.

It is never too soon begin to be all you are capable of being... and my bet is that you haven't begun to be all you can be. You were put on planet Earth with a gift, a gift that was intended to be used for the good of the planet. Unfortunately some people have yet to unwrap that gift.

Until you get past all you are not and have not done... and begin to be all you were meant to be, you will continue to count the days you have left instead of making the days you have left count.

"Consider the postage stamp; its usefulness consists in the ability to stick to one thing until it gets there."
                                                                  - Josh Bilings

Hey, we can learn much from a postage stamp, can't we. If for whatever reason the stamp fails to remain stuck to the letter, the letter will probably not arrive. If it does, the intended recipient will have to pay the price when it does.

Well, that's kinda silly but it is an interesting comparison, isn't it? While there is a fine line between sticking to something and knowing when it really is time to get yourself unstuck, if you look inside yourself, the answer will be there.

The right answer to all questions is within you. Learn to trust that inner voice.

"After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb."
- Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela is no doubt an authority on climbing hills. Given his commitment to make the world a better place he has endured much... including spending a significant portion of his life in prison.

How Mandela became who and what he is, is a question many have been asking for many years. Some insist that it was his destiny and that he had no choice but to be who he is and do what he did. Others will tell you that he, in fact all of us, choose ourselves for the life we live. I'm in that last group.

If we were predestined to be one thing or another in life there would be no reason for us to even get out of bed in the morning. We could just slouch around all day and wait for our fate (whatever it is) to show up in our lives.

We are each given a gift which is that special thing that we most love to do. We each have something that we can build on to make a difference in the world or at least our own little corner of it.

As for the reference to climbing one hill only to find that there are many more hills to climb, it is no doubt Mandela's way of saying that once we find our path, it is the beginning of the journey. Many experience some degree of success and sit back resting on the glory of that one success. We, I believe, are intended to not only find our path but to follow it all the way to the end of life's journey.

"A failure establishes only this, that our determination to succeed was not strong enough."
- Christian Nestell Bovee

There is much talk about failure. In the business world it has become the other "F" word that no one wants to hear said out loud. As I've said before, failure is simply the other side of success and when you experience a so-called failure you are closer to success than you have ever been.

When your determination to succeed is strong enough, when you are willing to put everything you have into it, you will succeed. The only question to be asked is, "What do you consider success?" One can never succeed beyond what the mind can conceive.

To enjoy the success you seek, determine what you want... what you really want. Once that picture of success is rooted firmly in your mind move forward with a determination and resolve that is strong enough to take you to the success you hold in your mind.

"A day will never be anymore than what you make of it!"
- Josh S. Hinds
WARNING: This is probably the longest Today's Thought ever but it is well worth your time to wade all the way through it. You could win three, one-on-one coaching sessions with a value of $1,125.

Actually, that holds true for all of life. Whether or not you are ready to believe it, you create your life with your thoughts. It's so simple that it seems complex. Whatever you expect from life is what life gives you. You create your life moment by moment.

Let me make it a bit less esoteric for you. Have you ever noticed that when you expect people to be nice to you, they are. Conversely, when you expect them to give you a hard time, they do. You may have sometimes wondered how they knew what you expected from them. It's easy... without having to say a word you gave off an adversarial energy, they sensed it and responded accordingly. None of this occurs at a conscious level; it's just all about energy.

That's why your day, and actually your entire life, will always be exactly what you expect it to be. If you want to be a millionaire but deep inside you, you don't believe you ever will... you won't. If you want people to love you but don't actually expect them to... they won't.

I'm suggesting an experiment:

Before you go to bed tonight write a note and safety pin it to your night clothes. Attach it in a place that you will be reminded of it as soon as you wake. Just to be on the safe side put the same note on your bathroom mirror, toilet seat or coffee pot...whichever you are likely to see first.

The note will be from you to you and will read something to the effect of:

Today everything is coming up roses for me. I love everyone I'll meet today and they will love me. Things will go well for me today. It will be the absolute best day of my life so far... and tomorrow will be even better.

Don't make a phone call (business or personal) without smiling before you put the receiver to your ear and lips. When out and around smile at everyone you meet. No matter what their reaction to you... keep smiling. Find something nice to say to people about themselves (find the best thing you can even if it takes a real stretch to get there). Spend your day doing all you can to make everyone... including your spouse, children and/or business partner(s), coworkers and/or boss(es) feel great about themselves.

Don't worry about any of them attempting to have you committed to an institution for the mildly insane. They will be too stunned to make such a decision. Under no circumstances tell anyone it's an experiment. No matter how your day goes know that no matter what happens it is all part of the experiment. How anyone reacts to you has nothing to do with you; their behavior/reaction is all about them... not you.

NOTE: If your spouse, children, employer, fellow employees or business partner is subscribed to Today's Thought and asks or suggests that they know what you're doing... don't lie but simply ask them what they mean and when they tell you simply respond with a confused "Oh, well everyone gets a different thought each day. Sounds interesting are you doing the experiment?" if they are, ask them how it's going and move on.

Note: If they pin you on it DO NOT LIE! Instead ask them how the experiment went for them or if they read this and chose not to take the challenge of the experiment invite them to join you as you spend the first day of a new and magnificent life.

TRUE STORY:

It's only fair to tell you this story because people are suspect of happy, self confident people. I have a client who came to me in really bad shape mentally. He told me he felt he was locked in a dark closet and couldn't escape from it. I actually feared for him... he seemed desperate and at the end of his proverbial rope. After just a three hour session he was so changed that he became the person I'm suggesting you become for this experiment.

He is a person in a high position in life and is making incredible progress in all he does. It won't be long before you read about his accomplishments in your local newspaper, see him on TV, know his name and recognize him on sight. When you are ultimately exposed to him you won't guess he is the person I'm describing here. The thing I have to tell you about the changes he made in his attitude about himself and all of life resulted in the company where he was at the time employed asking him to take a drug test. He laughed and agreed and then called me to tell me what had happened. We both had a good laugh. Of course there were no drugs found in his system. The only drug was the one in his mind called self-confidence and a true zest to be the one in charge of his life.

Lets call him George (obviously not his real name) and let me say to George (because he is a subscriber to Today's Thought) that I wouldn't have told this story if I thought anyone could guess who you are. Anyone reading this would expect you to be someone in close geographical proximity to my office. No one would believe how far you actually traveled to meet with me.

If you care to email me a detailed account of YOUR experimentation, I will create a page for them on Success Coaches Institute's website. Also, the person with the best true story will receive three, one-hour, one

"You've got to think high to reach great heights."
- The Secret Abundance Files

Well, that should go without saying, don't you think? You surely wouldn't reach beneath your knees to get a dish off the top shelf you your china closet, would you? Of course you wouldn't!

The question is, then, why do you presume to be able to reach your dreams and goals of lofty description without really reaching for them. If everything in the world were placed within arms length, we wouldn't need ladders. Ladders, however, are the least of it. We wouldn't need cars, certainly not aircraft, and spacecraft...come on, that's even more ridiculous than that Columbus guy who insisted the earth is round.

If you sit on your couch, front porch, at your desk or wherever it is you spend the most time sitting, the opportunities that will come your way are severely limited. To achieve success in life (and by success I mean, whatever success means to you) 'ya gotta reach beyond your so-called limitations. There are no limitations. Do your best to believe that the earth is not flat and that you can go wherever your mind can reach.

"To achieve all we want in life, our minds must be more like a vat and less like a sieve."

- A.C. Kane

When I first read this quote my first reaction was to call Amanda (A.C. Kane) and ask her what her point was when she wrote this. As I began to dial the phone, however, it dawned on me. I did complete the call, though, because I didn't want to run the risk of taking this in a direction other than the one she intended. She and I were, however, on the same page.

The thinking behind this is with those in mind who come up with perhaps more great ideas than any 10 people, but instead of holding them steadfast in their minds while they bring them to fruition, they decide (without ever testing them) that those ideas would never work or if they did, they wouldn't be well received. Having made the decision, sometimes in a matter of only a few minutes, that no one would be interested in their idea, they dismiss it and just as with a sieve, it seeps out of their minds. The price these people pay is that not only do their ideas go through the sieve, sometimes they find their way into the vats of others who get to work on making them a huge success.

"Thoughts become things, so choose your thoughts wisely."                                    - J.Sewell Perkins

Remember the story of King Midas? Everything he touched turned to gold. As great as that may sound, when he touched his son and his son turned to gold he wept. What does this have to do with Today's Thought and choosing our thoughts wisely? Just as everything King Midas touched turned to gold, everything we think becomes reality. Whether you choose to believe it or not it is a law of the Universe... just as sure as the law of gravity.

We create things and circumstances with our thoughts. While that can be a bit unsettling the first time you actually get it, it is really good news because it means that if you so choose you can change your entire life by simply changing your thoughts.

This phenomenon is called the law of attraction. What you focus on is attracted to you; sounds great, doesn't it? There's just one catch. Because the law of attraction really works, if you focus on something you don't want you will attract it. Because our minds don't recognize the negatives, "I don't want to be late" is translated by your mind as "be late"... and you are likely to be late.

Understanding how your mind works is a real advantage in that, that knowledge can be instrumental in helping you realize your goals, improve your health, and even get that raise that you've been thinking you're not going to get. Expect the extra income and visualize yourself investing it or spending it on something you really want and the raise is much more likely to be yours.

Nothing comes from nothing so be prepared to combine your thoughts with action and you'll be surprised by the results.

"The more effort you put into the garden of your mind, the more beautifully it grows, but leave it unattended and the weeds will overrun it."

- The Secret Abundance Files

This, although metaphoric, is pretty straight forward. We've all seen a garden that has been neglected and how all the beautiful plants in it became choked by the weeds. To bring forth great bounty a garden must be tended regularly... not just when it's convenient.

Most people who take the time and expend the effort to prepare the soil and plant a garden are not likely to let all the great things in the garden be overrun with weeds. When it comes to our minds, however, we are not always so careful to keep the weeds out. Perhaps that's just because we don't know what they look or sound like. Yes, I said sound like.

The weeds in the gardens of our minds are words often spoken by loved ones. These weeds can strangle every good thought and idea we have. Some of the weeds to which I refer are:

* That won't work; I wouldn't even pursue it if I were you.
* Your idea is interesting but I don't see it ever coming to fruition.
* Things like that aren't for people like us; be satisfied with your lot in life.
* People are going to laugh at you and you'll make a fool of yourself if you do that.

I could fill pages with the things people say to protect us from success. While there isn't time or space to go into all the reasons for which our friends and relatives may say these things, I can tell you that sometimes it's out of honest concern for us because they just don't realize how great we are. Other times it's because they know they couldn't do what we plan to do and think we couldn't either.

"Sometimes you have to put your foot down in order to get a leg up."
- Dave Weinbaum

Interesting quote, isn't it? A variety of meanings can be applied to this but I'm going with the one that came immediately to mind when I first read this quote.

There are times and situations in life when you may find yourself reliant on someone else to sanction your advancement. In corporate, and small business settings as well, there is usually someone who promotes and demotes at will. If you're being overlooked for promotion or project leadership you would do well to discuss it with the top guy or gal. Be firm, but friendly in your presentation of the situation you believe exists. Put your foot down, but put it down gently at least until you can feel the lay of the land.

The best approach is not to go to the boss demanding this, that, or another thing but rather use an approach of how massively the company could benefit from your management skills, project experience and forward thinking ideas. Be prepared and lay it on as thick as you can without overdoing it. Also be prepared to back up your claims with facts... successes for which you've been responsible in the past.

Especially in the business world most people come from a place of what's in it for me? It's your job to be prepared to tell them what's in it for them long before you actually ask for a position of leadership. Once the boss sees that you have the company's interests at heart and that you could actually do something that would make him look really good... he will listen.

"People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing - that's why we recommend it daily."

- Zig Ziglar

 

                 

While this is an interesting perspective on both motivation and bathing, the fact remains that just as we must bathe regularly to keep ourselves clean, we must also regularly bathe our minds in thoughts, words and actions that will support our goals.

You can't build a successful life or business if you spend your time hanging out with people who are going nowhere fast. Many people, who could ultimately have and be all they've ever hoped for, stop short of their goal due to lack of support.

If you have taken The Secret Abundance Files course I know you're on the right track and have a strong support team. If you have not, I highly recommend that you do so. CLICK HERE to take a free look inside the ultimate success program.

"My understanding of the fundamental laws of the universe did not come out of the rational mind."

- Albert Einstein

 

                 

This quote points out the fact that most people cannot count on their conscious minds for the really important decisions one must make in life. While most people live in their conscious minds, seldom visiting their subconscious or higher self, that is a dangerous thing to do.

The subconscious has a greater understanding of the fundamental laws of the universe... laws of which your conscious mind is not aware. If this all sounds like mumble-jumble to you it's because you're entertaining these thoughts in your conscious mind. Your conscious mind is the mind that tells you all the things you can't do... all the ways in which you cannot succeed. As nicely as I can say this, YOUR CONSCIOUS MIND IS FULL OF A LIFETIME OF CRAP!

Every word everyone said to you plus every word you heard spoken to someone else has been recorded by your mind. While you are unlikely to be unaware of the fact that all that stuff is there, the fact that you have not yet been able to accomplish all your goals and have not yet become all you had hoped to be is evidence of that fact.

You know there is something that stops you. YOU DON'T KNOW what it is so you just decide that you're not capable of being and having all you want from life. That is just more crap from the conscious mind. If you're still stuck in that rut that you've been shoveling to get out of for years, isn't it time to finally... once and for all... get out? You know it is!

If you're serious about being all you can be in life, I'm serious about helping you do that. Just click below and read every word... then take the steps necessary to begin living the life of which you've dreamed. CLICK HERE.

"Life is like a grindstone, whether it grinds us down or polishes us up, however, depends on us."

- L. Thomas Holdcroft                  

It all comes down to what we're made of and what we're made of is, believe it or not, entirely up to us. If you've been through the 12-week course we call The Secret Abundance Files, you know by now what it is that stops people from being, doing and having all they want in life. Until you know for sure what continues to stop you from living the life of your dreams you will not realize your dream.

While what I'm writing here may seem to have absolutely nothing to do with the quotation, they are very much connected. Those of you who have taken the course will get the real meaning of Holdcroft's quote. Those of you who have not, are not as likely to get the real meaning.

The bottom line message here is that it's all up to you whether you become a polished and sparkling gem or become ground down to dust.

"Have you found your "dare to be great" moment?"
- The Secret Abundance Files

Not so much a quote as it is a question. So, have you found your dare to be great moment? Sometimes those moments come and go without our ever having noticed them. Could it be that, that has happened to you? Would you have recognized that moment if it had come your way?

Our studies indicate that it is the tendency to expect that moment to arrive accompanied by fanfare... you know, bells and whistles... and maybe a uniformed marching band. If you're waiting for those things you are likely to have a long wait. Often the best "dare to be great" moments slip quietly upon us so only those with a truly open mind can detect them.

Keep an open mind to life, decide what you truly love to do and begin to work toward making that the way you begin to create abundance. When we find and admit the thing we were put on Earth to do, and do it, our lives become both happier and more prosperous.

"Fan the flames of your discontent until they become a conflagration of success."
- J.Sewell Perkins

Fan the flames of your discontent? I sometimes have a flare for the dramatic, don't I? The point is that there is a point to be made here. The point is that all too often I speak with clients that are fed up with life and they, for whatever reasons, gently fan those flames of discontent just enough to keep that fire burning... just enough to burn their dreams to the point that they go up in smoke and ashes.

Don't be one of those people. Use the discontent you have with your current life to create a bonfire of success. Stop the smoldering thoughts of what you don't have and why you don't have it and get busy doing something about it.

Frequently people come to me as new clients telling me what a lousy business they are in. They share all the problems they've experienced in the business telling me they love what they are doing but just can't make any money at it. I take a long, hard look at the business for them and immediately realize that it's a great business and many are making incredible money in that same business.

Sometimes it isn't that your vehicle doesn't work... maybe you just need to refuel yourself and your thinking and begin fanning the flames of your discontent until they become a conflagration of success.

"Enthusiasm for 30 minutes is okay, for 30 hours is better, but for 30 days... now you're starting to get serious."

- The Secret Abundance Files

Isn't it interesting how enthusiasm seems to come in with a bang and go out with a whimper? You get a new idea that excites you or you read a new book on how to change your life forever and you actually feel the excitement. The problem in most cases, however, seem to be that the idea could take some work to come to fruition and the excitement of the be all you can be book fades quickly from your memory. For all too many people 30 minutes of enthusiasm is difficult to maintain much less 30 hours... and 30 days... enthusiasm seldom reaches the 30 day mark.

With all the money people spend on learning the how to and often what to do, they get together with friends, share their great idea with great enthusiasm only to be shot down in mid-air. To maintain enthusiasm we must work at it. If we are to be successful in life we need to spend more time with those who are already in life where we want to be. Successful people know what it takes to get to that place called success and they are usually willing to not only share what they know with you but to be there to support you in your journey.

To be successful it's necessary to live in the dream. Spend all your time in the state of enthusiasm with other enthusiastic people.

If you're really serious about achieving success in life, I invite you to check out The Secret Abundance Files. This program is changing people and helping them reach well beyond their goals. I know it could do the same for you. Check it out HERE!

"Consider your choices well along life's journey because each decision you make adjusts your course and ultimately your destination."
- The Secret Abundance Files

If you've ever made a wrong turn on a motor trip you may be well aware that the seemingly slightest wrong turn can get you very far off course or in some cases completely lost. While maps don't usually lie, the inclination is sometimes to venture of the charted course for a side trip. In the case of a motor trip, that can be fun and many of us do those things.

In the journey of life, however, a wrong turn can have serious consequences. Sometimes, just as with a motor trip, we actually make a wrong turn. Hopefully we recognize our error and quickly get back on course. If, however, we deliberately leave the road of our life's journey we can become permanently distracted to the degree that we never get back on course.

We all want the most and best we can have from life but sometimes fail to realize that getting off course can change the entire outcome. Hopefully that will not be something we have to regret someday when we realize our life has been spent and we have little or nothing to show for it.

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"An idea can turn to dust or magic, depending on the talent that rubs against it."
- Bill Bernbach

Ideas, it is said, are a dime a dozen and the writer of this quotation is right on the money with his words. The talent that rubs against the idea, the talent of the one who owns the idea can make all the difference in the world in terms of the success or failure of that idea.

On the other side of the proverbial coin, some people can take the worst idea, the one no one thinks is going anywhere, and turn it into something magical. As I tell you this, I'm not entirely convinced that it's clear here what we're calling talent.

Talent doesn't necessarily mean special knowledge or abilities other than the inward belief that allows someone to know that he or she can do what he/she sets out to do.

"When you think you can, you can. When you know you can, you will."

"All of us need to grow continuously in our lives."
- Les Brown

How many people do you know who achieve a bit of success only to come to a screeching halt and begin to rest on their so-called laurels? Hopefully you're not one of those people.

Life is not a destination but rather a journey, a journey that continues as long as we live. Once we reach our goals, personal and financial, it is incumbent on us to reach out and help others understand how to reach their goals. In that way we fulfill our destiny and open ourselves to making a huge difference in the world. That is what I've just done as I shared these words with you.

Your growing should always be showing!

If you like to have more information on being all you can be, CLICK HERE.

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"After the game, the king and the pawn go into the same box."

- Italian Proverb

What does putting chess pieces back in the box after the game have to do with your life... other than to encourage you to be neat? As in many proverbs, we're dealing with chess as a metaphor for life. If Today'sThought encourages you to remain or become tidy it has served two purposes.

The point this proverb makes reminds me of a conversation I had recently with a man I've observed for probably the better part of a year. We've not had much interaction but everything I have seen and heard from him... in fact, just to look at him shows me a strong, handsome and highly competent man. He is what I would call an impressive person. He and his wife own their own business and they are both impressive people.

He and his wife both recently became clients and when this man talked about feeling that he wasn't in the same league with some of the so-called heavy hitters with whom he interacts in his business I was surprised (and I am seldom surprised). He talked about having to muster all the courage he had to just introduce himself to a recent guest speaker at an event which surprised me to an even greater degree.

You're no doubt getting the point of today's ramblings. We are all limited only by our mindset. We don't fit in if we believe we don't. If the people you believe are so high above you seem to treat you as inferior, unless the person is a real horse's ass, it is likely all in your mind.

 

WARNING - The exception to it being all in your mind is... if you actually transmit your feelings of inferiority to the people to whom you feel inferior.

The truth is... people will see you as you see yourself.

You ARE and always will be no more or no less than you believe yourself to be. The good news is that to be more than you believe yourself to be... all you need to do is let go of all the trash of the past and decide that you are the greatest.

"Just as the tiny acorn contains within it a mighty oak tree, you have within you greatness beyond your wildest imagination."
- J.Sewell Perkins

"You are destined to always be exactly who and what you believe yourself to be."
- J.Sewell Perkins

Think about that for a minute. You are never who anyone else believes you to be but rather who and what you believe you to be. That pretty much puts the ball in your court, doesn't it? The corresponding fact, however, is that others will also believe what you believe yourself to be.

You may want to read that again, and again, and again!

"While we are often judged by the words we speak, we are more often judged by the words we do not speak."
- J.Sewell Perkins

For many years we've heard the words silence is golden and we've grown to think of silence as a good thing, and it surely can be. It's important, however, to understand that sometimes our silence is read as many things other than silence.

In some situations, when we don't speak up and out and let people know what we're thinking, they are often inclined to interpret our silence differently than it's intended. While I'm inclined to advise my clients to weigh their words well before they are shared I hasten to advise them to weigh their silence as well.

We don't have to answer every question we are asked and we need to be aware of the fact that sometimes our silence is louder than we realize.

"Today is the future you were thinking about and planning for five or ten years ago."

- Amanda Curtis Kane

What will you be planning for over the next five or ten years? There are many quotations along this very line of thought.

#1 Each moment is a new beginning.
#2 Tomorrow never comes.
#3 Today is worth a million tomorrows.
#4 Now is all there is.
#5 Starting over can begin right now.
#6 Is today the tomorrow you were talking about yesterday?
#7 Each new dawn welcomes a new day.
Actually, the list goes on and on, and on and on. While today is now, this very moment, yesterday it was the future. If there is a lesson to be learned in all this it would have to be that we must live in the moment...one moment at a time.

Love you my Sister

"One today is worth two tomorrows."
- Benjamin Franklin

One day tomorrow won't come. We won't wake up having to decide whether or not "TODAY" is finally going to be the day we make our lives count for something. We will have missed the lifetime of "todays" we were given for the purpose of making a great difference here on earth.

None of us is promised tomorrow... or even the rest of this day. These words I'm writing now could be the last words I ever write. Does that make me sad? Yes and no. Yes because I know I have so much more in me to give. No because I have spent the better part of my life doing exactly what I was meant to do... the thing I most love doing and that is... making each life I touch better in some way for my having touched it.

It is my sincere hope that I've made your life better in some way!

 

"In any moment of decision the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing."

- Theodore Roosevelt

Well, how easy is that? Just do the right thing! The question is how do we know what the right thing is? As good ole Teddy Roosevelt indicates here in this quote your first choice is to do the right thing. Your second choice is to do the wrong thing and lastly, the worst thing to do is nothing.

I have to disagree with Mr. Roosevelt that the worst thing we can do is nothing. While sometimes nothing may be the worst thing you can do, there are times when it is better to do nothing.

I'm not going to enumerate all those things for you but rather let you think about those possibilities and come up with them on your own. Do give it some thought; I think it will reveal some things to you about yourself, things of which you are not currently aware.

"If we did all the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astonish ourselves."

- Thomas Edison

Do you have any idea what you are capable of doing? Most people just show up on this planet and get in line. The system seems to be that we follow our parents, who followed their parents, who followed theirs. Admittedly, each generation progresses to some degree. By that I mean we're not all riding around in horse drawn carriages. While that's a fun thing to do in Central Park, for example, having to travel from coast to coast by horse and buggy could get old really fast.

This, in case you haven't noticed, is the 21st century. This is the future you were planning for 5, 10, 15 years ago (depending on your age) and what was the plan? Are you living it now? Perhaps you're planning to begin living it sometime in the next 5, 10 or 15 years? Here's the shocker!!! As I sit here keying these words, the future begins again with each key I strike on my computer. Five minutes ago, when I was choosing the quotation to use today, is now (only 5 minutes later) the past and is gone forever.

You are capable of doing so much more than you are willing to admit to yourself. Sure, if you go for it and don't make it someone may laugh at you or think badly of you. My question is what is that person doing with his or her life that's so great?

There was a time before you learned to walk that you crawled everywhere. Suppose the first time you pulled yourself up, held on to the wall, a chair or whatever... you fell! What did you do? You got right back up and did it again and again and again until you knew you had that walking thing mastered. It didn't matter to you that you wobbled a bit... or a lot... because all those learning to walk for the first time learn by trial and error.

No one said, "Okay that's it!" You failed so just forget about walking and just admit that you're a failure, or I hope they didn't! The point is that failure only occurs when you take yourself out of the game. The game of life, or whatever the game at hand may be, it's not over until you give up and quit!!!

"Forget about the thief waiting in the alley; what about the thief in your mind?"

- Jim Rohn

Yeah, the thief in the alley draws far more worry and attention than he deserves. The real thief of all that is precious to us lives in that space right between our ears. This is a thief that has continuous access to us and need not hide to commit a robbery but rather blatantly takes over our minds and robs us of all our hopes and dreams.

We have been so conditioned from birth to beware of the enemy outside ourselves that we have seldom given any thought to the enemy that dwells with us...within our minds. When we finally get it that we are our own worst enemy and take the necessary steps to change that, it is then and only then that we can truly begin to move forward to become all we were meant to be.

"At midnight tonight this day will be gone forever. Make the most of it while you have it and make every moment count."

- J.Sewell Perkins

There are no promises of tomorrow, however, in anticipation of there being one and many more tomorrows to come we need to use every minute of every hour of every day to full advantage. Making the most of every minute may sound a bit dramatic but the alternative is that we put things off till tomorrow and tomorrow never really comes.

Today and tomorrow are the future that you were talking about and planning for five or ten years ago. Where did you think or plan to be by now? Have your actions supported your goals of the past. More importantly are you where you expected to be by now? A more important question is, where will you be five years from today?

"Your thoughts are both the architect and builder of your destiny. Design well and build on firm ground."

- J.Sewell Perkins

What a rare thing it is to find someone who actually, fully understands this quote. So many arrive on this planet and get in line behind their parents, who arrived and got behind their parents, who arrived and got behind their parents. Many never even consider the possibility that what they are following is a little changed pattern from centuries ago. Oh, some progress is made and each new generation evolves somewhat, but there is rarely a serious look at what they're really doing.

Dad was a doctor, lawyer, bricklayer, trash collector or whatever so junior grows up to become one. The situations in which that pattern isn't followed are the exception rather than the rule. We are born and just get in line.

We, however, have more power than we realize to determine our fate. I suspect that if you ever really got in touch with the power of your mind it would frighten you. You could, however, use just a tiny bit of your God given potential to design and build a life that would not only create joy for you but serve as an example to your fellow man (or woman) that we can do, be, have and accomplish anything we will allow ourselves to believe we can.

Hey, give it a shot!!! What have you got to lose?

"While we are often judged by the words we speak, we are more often judged by the words we do not speak."
- J.Sewell Perkins

While we do often judge people by the words they speak, we focus too little on the words they don't speak. Silence can be golden and with that in mind I'm going to stop here and let you focus on and think about the quotation.

"People with clear, written goals, accomplish far more in a shorter period of time than people without them could ever imagine."
- Brian Tracy

If we're absolutely clear about what our goals are, aren't they better off in our minds where we can access them on a moment's notice? No, they are not. Things become considerably clearer and more real when we commit them to paper. By all means keep a copy in your mind but the well detailed goals are better off on paper.

So many other things, distracting things, find their way into your mind over the course of 24 hours that it's easy to become distracted and possibly forget your goals completely. By writing down you goals and your plan, you have committed to it. Once you've committed to your goals and the plan by which you will accomplish them, you are well on your way to success.

"Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen."

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

How simple is this? You decide, I mean really make the decision to pursue what you want from life and the Universe will begin moving it toward you at least as rapidly as you are moving toward it. That's a fact! It's called the law of attraction and it is a law of the Universe that's just as sure as the law of gravity.

Don't take my word for it; make the decision, begin moving toward what you want and see how quickly the Universe steps in to bring what you want to you.

Another term for this is called manifestation. While I could tell you what a highly complicated process manifestation is, the fact is that I began at age 8 manifesting whatever I want. The interesting thing is that at age 8 I didn't even know the word manifestation.

"Most of our obstacles would melt away if, instead of cowering before them, we should make up our minds to walk boldly through them."

- Orison Swett Marden

When you cower before anything, be it physically or emotionally, you diminish your effectiveness. Stand tall in all matters. Refuse to hear the word "no." Resolve to believe that all things are possible... because they are.

With that said, it's important to define obstacles. What is an obstacle? To some a mole hill is seen as an obstacle while others climb Mt. Everest. A reasonable conclusion to draw from this is that just as with everything else in life, obstacles are in the eye of the beholder.

Begin now, in this moment, to see everything as doable. Get out of the major obstacle mode and your life will become not only easier but more of a joy as well.

"It is said that the road to success is sometimes bumpy but you'll never know for sure unless you travel it."
- Amanda Curtis Kane

It's interesting to me how many people complain about the bumps in the road to success without ever having traveled the road. They know, though, that it's a bumpy road because someone who started down that road and turned back has told them so. YOU need to find out for yourself!

If you had a crush on someone whom you considered to be a possible love interest in your life would you ask someone else to date that person, experience that first kiss and so on then come back and tell you whether that's a person you want to be with? I certainly hope not!

So the question is, why would you take the opinion of another person as gospel in something as important as the road to all you've ever wanted, a life of happiness and abundance? Everything is relative and no two people see things exactly the same way (I know it often seems so but they don't). Just because one person can't make it down the bumpy road to prosperity does NOT mean that you can't! YOU can do anything you decide to do... anything! So, make your own decision, take your own journey and find your own success.

"If we did all the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astonish ourselves."

-Thomas Edison

I guess the question here is, why don't we do all the things of which we're capable? That's the million dollar question, literally!

If you identify with this in a big way, if you know something is holding you back but don't know what it is... CLICK HERE.

"If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change."

- Buddha

Sometimes it seems almost as if we're too busy to notice the beauty and the miracles of the Universe that surround us. We take too many of life's miracles for granted.

Our fast paced lives leave little time for the thrill of watching a flower bloom or observing the beads of glistening dew on the delicate petals. There is a miracle in each bloom and here we stand, the greatest miracle of all, taking it too much for granted.

I challenge you to dedicate one day (for starters) to really see and enjoy all the wonders of nature. I promise you that when you take more time to appreciate and love the beauty around you, you'll soon begin to realize a greater appreciation of the beauty within you.

"Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune"

- Jim Rohn

Have no doubt, I value my formal education and hope that everyone realizes the value of theirs. There's no doubt in my mind that what Jim Rohn meant here is something close to what I say all the time. Education for the sake of having another degree or certificate to frame and put on your wall is, in my humble but accurate opinion, a waste of time.

There are two people I know who are always going back to school to get another degree or certificate. These people insist that they feel the additional education is necessary in order to get a job. In the meantime I have clients with little or no education who are worth millions.

The point is that what's really important is that you know what you're doing and have the ability to get paid handsomely for what you do. Employers, for the most part, don't pay for certificates and degrees but rather for results.

If having a business of your own is your goal, you surely don't need a degree to impress yourself. Your knowledge, great attitude and stick-to-it-tiv-ness will get you everywhere you need to go.

"Decide what you want, decide what you are willing to exchange for it. Establish your priorities and go to work."

- H. L. Hunt

While initially this quote could seem to disagree with my writings proclaiming that You CAN Have It All... if you have it all, you then have not given up or exchanged anything for it, right?

The fact is that while you can have it all, you must be willing to do what it takes to have it all. Face it, it's not as though we show up on planet Earth and someone hands us a couple million dollars and tells us to enjoy ourselves. Life is about choices and while you can have it all, you need to be willing to go where "all" is so you can claim it. If you could just sit in your chair and "ALL" would just present itself to you, I'm guessing that you wouldn't enjoy it nearly as much as if you had actually created it for yourself.

Some of the things we may need to exchange for success are: negative thinking, complaining, TV, constantly hanging out with friends and... well you get the picture. What we do need to exchange for success are things that we probably don't enjoy all that much anyway.

"Better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt."

- Abraham Lincoln

Isn't it interesting that all too often those who have the least to say seem to do the most talking? Remember, it's difficult to put your foot in your mouth when your mouth is closed.

"Be willing to make decisions. That's the most important quality in a good leader. Don't fall victim to what I call the 'ready-aim-aim-aim-aim syndrome'. You must be willing to fire."

-T. Boone Pickens

Being not only willing to make decisions but being able to do so is not only the sign of a good leader but a sign of the fact that we have control over our minds. T. Boone Pickens knows of what he speaks with these words.

We can actually control our minds instead of letting the winds of fortune... and/or misfortune blow us here, there and everywhere. If you have a decision you've been back and forth with, make the decision now to move forward and always keep moving in the direction of your goals.

Are you fit company for the person you wish to become?

- Anonymous

How's that for a loaded question? It sorta causes one to trip a bit. While this is surely something to think about, it cannot really be answered. Do, however, give it some thought. Maybe the subtle suggestion here is that we consider becoming now... the person we want to become?????

"A mind once stretched by a new idea never returns to its original dimensions."

- Oliver Wendell Holmes

That's a fact. Have you ever stretched a rubber band and later noticed that it was larger than a new one still in the box? Anything that has the capability to expand, while not remaining as large at the dimension to which it was stretched, will never be able to return to its original size. That includes your mind. The more you use it, the more it expands and the more it expands... the more it expands.

If you'd like to check out the possibility of expanding your mind as it has never been expanded before, CLICK HERE.

"Your life is like a coin. You may spend it any way you choose but you can spend it only once."

- Amanda Curtis Kane

Some people seem to meander through life as if they were here on Earth for all eternity. Each precious day is a gift and we would do well to appreciate the gift and use it as it was intended to be used.

If you gave a friend a gift, let's say a beautiful crystal vase, and that friend smashed it on the floor you'd see that person as ungrateful, rude or any number of other things. The fact is that you've been given a gift of far greater value than a mere crystal vase. You've been given the opportunity to create for yourself a life of total and absolute abundance and then live that life to the fullest. You have the opportunity to not only create abundance for yourself but to make a difference in the lives of many.

Begin to appreciate this wonderful gift you've been given and use it to make a real difference for yourself and the planet on which you live.

"You can't build a reputation on what you are going to do."

- Henry Ford

Well, actually you can build a reputation on what you're going to do. It's just not the kind of reputation I think you want to build.

Not too long after my college years I met a young man who seemed to know something about everything. He had one great idea after the other and talked extensively about each of them. When it came to actually doing something he never did anything with any of these ideas. People who were doers took his ideas and made a fortune with them. To this day this man has never moved on one of his great ideas.

It saddens me for him because he had, and probably still has, many gifts that should be shared with the world. I know, however, that he will never share his gifts. He's not a client because according to him he doesn't need a Life or Business Development Coach. He says that when he's ready to launch his latest idea he will do so without help from anyone else.

At parties, people who have never met him before stand transfixed and impressed at his ideas. Many of them have told him that when he's ready to go with it he can count on them to invest. He says, "Great, I'll let you know" and they never hear from him again.

This man has built a reputation on what he's "going to do" but unfortunately that reputation includes both the pity and disgust of those who know that he just talks and never does.

"When you don't know and don't know you don't know, you think you know when you don't know and that can be a dangerous thing."

- J.Sewell Perkins

Easy for me to say, huh? This is one of those silly sounding things that if you can get past the intentional silliness there is a real message there. All too often the things we know are not correct and some of our mistaken ideas just don't stand up to the test of time.

I don't suggest that you jump on every new wagon that comes through town or that you be too eager to drink the Kool-Aid served up by whomever. What I do suggest is that you open your mind to the possibility that there are a few thing you don't know...especially about how your mind works and why you have some of the unproductive thoughts you have that hold you back.

Open your mind to at least hear other possibilities and then cautiously consider them. Perhaps even consider testing new theories to see if they can make a difference in your life as they have in the lives of so many others.

"Whatever you do today, do it powerfully, knowing that it will be one more brushstroke on the canvas of your life.

- J.Sewell Perkins

As you might guess I like the analogy of brushstrokes on a canvas to represent life and the strokes of success we apply to it. While there are many analogies that can be related to life this is a particular favorite because the words suggest that we can not only apply brush strokes but can make the canvas a true masterpiece.

Is your life a masterpiece in progress or just some amateur painting that gets a bit of paint dabbled on it when there's time and energy to do so? I hope you're in the process of doing everything you do powerfully. Refuse to make meaningless brushstrokes. Make each stroke count. Use colors you love and take the canvas of your life seriously. If you've not already done so, begin today to stop dabbling and start working on your masterpiece.