Attitude

“[People] who never get carried away should be.” ~~Malcolm Forbes~~

I had the distinct pleasure of networking this morning with an entrepreneur extraordinaire. I don’t call her that because she’s “made it”. I call her that because she will! I’ve been witness to a transformation unlike many I have seen before. With more drive and determination to thrive than I have ever seen in one person, I have no doubt she and her new business will be a huge success. She is enthusiastic, gung-ho and working her tail off. Being “carried away” to higher heights is her new mission, and her enthusiasm is contagious. That’s one thing I love about networking with positive people!

“Attitudes are contagious. Are yours worth catching?” ~Dennis and Wendy Mannering

Preparation

“When a man does not know what harbor he is making for, no wind is the right wind.” ~Seneca~

Preparation: any proceeding, experience, or the like considered as a mode of preparing for the future.*

Preparing for what future? That may be the question. I had a conversation late last week about the importance of a plan; of being as prepared as possible, but directing the possibilities with that preparation. It was interesting. It was sort of a “chicken or egg” conversation. If you don’t know where you want to end up, how can you plan your path to get there? Contrarily, some of the best things happen when there is no plan. Synchronicity! Spontaneity! Surprise! So, while I agree with Seneca, maybe a better way to look at it would be that no wind is the wrong wind either.

*"preparation." Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 26 Jul. 2010. .

Motivation

“Nothing diminishes anxiety faster than action.” ~~Walter Anderson~~

I’m going to semi- (and probably mis-) quote my dad again. It’s not the first time I’ve heard him say it, or, maybe it really was… Anxiety (fear) is the same emotion as excitement. The day I wrote about changing my internal dialogue (http://hireeffect.blogspot.com/2010/07/preparation.html) we had this conversation. And, it’s been on my mind ever since. I think I’m really getting it.

I love feeling excited about things; whether it’s a meeting with someone I haven’t seen in a while, or it’s a celebratory event, that kind of excitement is a lot of fun. Well, why can’t the anxiety I feel about the amount of work that lies ahead, or the challenges I’m facing be called “excitement”? Why not choose to feel “excited” about all the things I have on my plate? Why not choose to have my work be a source of fun? Anxiety really does go away when you “just do it”. And it’s so much easier to do things that you’re excited about than it is to do things you’re anxious about. What will you have fun with today?

Attitude

"There is importance in today; not so much in what happens to us, but in how we respond." ~~Melody Beattie~~

Just the word “importance” could spark an entire post! My dad posted this on Facebook yesterday. Coincidentally one of my long-time friends posted “Mind over matter, right?” as her status update last night. I knew there was a message there for me. Yes! Mind over matter! Choosing how we respond to whatever happens to us is, in fact, entirely up to us. And the important thing about today really may be that we can choose differently today than we did yesterday if we want to. I get chills just thinking about that! How empowering! If you live each day choosing to improve over the day before then even when you feel like it can’t get any better, it does!

What can you improve upon today?

Goals

"Don't say you don't have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michaelangelo, Mother Teresea, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein." ~Life's Little Instruction Book, compiled by H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

It's amazing what you can accomplish when you set your mind to it!

Preparation

“If you think you are beaten, you are;
If you think you dare not, you don't.”
~~ from The Man Who Thinks He Can by Walter D. Wintle~~

I’ve been thinking a lot about mental preparation. Do you say things like, “You’re killing me!” when someone annoys you or does something you don’t agree with? Do you say things like, “I’m never going to get all this done!” when you’re overwhelmed? Or, “I’m so stressed out!” when you’re feeling that way? I do. I have forever. And, that changes now. I am committed to practice speaking positively regardless of my current feelings. I can say things like “WOW! I have so much to accomplish today!” or “I am really feeling the excitement of being busy!” This may sound silly, but it’s my little experiment. I started this morning, and I already feel better!

What will you do to mentally prepare?

Motivation

“I CAN is 100 times more important than IQ.” ~~author unknown~~

I know I can, and therefore I will. Challenges will always present themselves. If everything was easy, life would get boring. I always say that I’m happy in the chaos, because when chaos is NOT present, the chaos I create in its place is always so much more chaotic than that which would have been there naturally! So, in the presence of chaos, in the face of the fear of “there’s just too much going on”, I am motivated by the fact that I CAN. And, I will. How about you?

Attitude

“Weeds are flowers too, once you get to know them.” ~~A.A. Milne~~

It’s all in how you see things. Choose to see the positive instead of the negative; choose to see the possibilities instead of thinking things are impossible; choose to see the challenge instead of feeling stressed. Enjoy the journey! And, don’t worry about what anyone else thinks… you take care of you; the rest will take care of itself.

Motivation

“When you know what you want, and you want it badly enough, you'll find a way to get it.” ~~Jim Rohn~~


Too much work; not enough hours in the day… but I know what I want, so I will get it done, and I WILL enjoy my weekend!

To those of you in the US… Happy Independence Day!

“We must be free not because we claim freedom, but because we practice it.” ~~William Faulkner

Goals

“A bend in the road is not the end of the road... unless you fail to make the turn.” ~~Author Unknown~~

I would like to shake the hand of the person who first said this. That would be, to me, even more empowering and inspiring than the quote, and the quote is awesome!

Goals, desires, even dreams can grow and change; we’ve discussed that. But it is possibly even more important to remember that WE change too. And, sometimes we have to in order to achieve our goals, desires and dreams. People change. That’s a fact. We grow; we move; our circumstances create new feelings and emotions. We may change hobbies; jobs; thoughts about vacations or spending habits. We may change styles; political parties…we may even change friends. Such is a part of life.

If you have a dream, don’t let anything stand in your way from realizing that dream. It’s ok to focus on yourself once in a while. In fact, some will argue that in order to focus on anyone or anything else, you have to focus on yourself. I’m pretty sure that was the topic of a previous post.

So, make the turn. Take the chance. Be true to yourself. And, the rest will fall into place.