A remote controlled piano was placed in the center of grand central station in Chicago.
It’s great fun to watch the reactions and to notice the attitudes of those folks around it.
Beating Yourself Up Does Not Work
Don’t beat yourself up over what you are not doing well.
Remember when you were 18?
Yes, you were an adult. Yes, you might even have been a responsible adult. However, could the “18-year-old you” juggle all the responsibilities you now have and effectively run the life you have today?
The answer is obviously NO.
Even at your current age, there are tools and skills you do not have. More importantly, you don’t even know you don’t have them yet.
They will be there when you need them. Berating yourself will not make them appear any quicker. Quite the contrary, it will help you feel bad and make you more inclined to give up.
There are tools to life you do not have right now. You will have them when you need them.
By the way, you have tools you no longer need. It’s OK to let them go. [Read more…]
Attitude Calling
At the dawn of my sales career, a co-worker gave me a cassette: Zig Ziglar’s “Secrets of Closing the Sale.”
Reluctantly plugging it into the tape machine, I expected to eject it (and the ideas) immediately after the slack on the tape was absorbed. Instead, I became a fan of the old-time motivator from Yazoo City who postulated that health, wealth, and happiness are the natural results of treating others well and that attitude is essential in doing so.
Years have passed, and unfortunately so has Mr. Ziglar, but I still remember vividly a scenario he used to illustrate how fluid is our perception. (I’ve altered the concept, but felt it important to give credit to its origin.)
Picture rising on your “average” day, nothing exhilarating or dreadful is on the agenda. As you rub the sleep from your eyes and swing your bare feet from the softness of the bed to the hardness of the floor, using a one-to-ten scale, think about how you’d rate your attitude. Sure, some days barely merit a “one;” others are heavenly, generating a “ten.” But — on the run-of-the-mill everyday — what ranking would you choose? (FYI, based on a long-term survey I conduct, the majority of respondents end up at 7.9.)
Attitude locked in place; you interact in usual fashion with friends, families, and vendors. As the day fades into history, you retire, expecting to rise again tomorrow and repeat the process. Not meaning to cast our existence as mundane; but, it is most of what life is in present-day America.
So, let’s shake it up.
Again, imagine the ordinary morning. However, this dawn you are jolted into consciousness by a ringing telephone. Glancing at the clock and noting the early hour, your first thoughts are concern, “Who is calling this early? What’s wrong?”
Positive Attitude is not Enough
A positive attitude only gets you so far.
If you’re not in shape for the climb, you’re still going to die half way up the mountain.
There’s nothing wrong with a positive attitude. It’s never harmful – and many times it’s essential.
However, unless you put it into action, it won’t do a thing. There is no substitute for hard work.
Think positive – and then positively act.
Special thanks to https://www.facebook.com/larrymersereau where I found the inspiration for today’s topic.
Spontaneity: To Nurture Our Lives
You wake up, switch the alarm off, stretch and stand to your feet.
You race down the stairs, inhaling the fresh, cooked breakfast. The wife has done it again! Today, however, something strange happens. Your car keys are missing. No recollection of where they could be. Then, thankfully, your wife finds them. Alright, you’re not going to be late for work. I mean come on, you’re never late.
You’re almost to work when the unexplainable happens, again. You make that usual right turn and enter bumper to bumper traffic. You take this street specifically to avoid traffic. And usually there is no traffic. Now you’re definitely going to be late!
You barely make it to work on time. Break time sneaks up on you and the only thing on your mind is the uninvited intrusions from earlier. You’re a person who values punctuality, organization and a special order. For your entire life you’ve painted every aspect of your life.
I ask you to not just read my words but allow them saturate within your mind and soul.
For the avid believers who feel they can literally shape their life any which way they want. No matter how perfectly you plan each day, hour, minute or moment, you cannot decide every aspect of your life. Take part and envision a day when everything went according to plan. Probably a great day I imagine. I love those days!
Marinate your mind with this question. Where does life’s spontaneous adventures originate? Unfortunately, they don’t originate from those perfectly planned days! You think Steve Job would have been a future tech prodigy if he hadn’t first been fired from Apple? Ruth Graves Wakefield had a bad day when she realized she ran out of the baking chocolate she used for her chocolate chip cookies. This spontaneously forced her to chop up Nestlé’s Semi-Sweet morsels. Thus, creating the chocolate chip cookies we have today. The spontaneity event of each day is what keeps the future an adventure. And those are the days that become stained memories for our hearts. Embrace the uninvited intrusions and you might just meet that right person or influence a positive change in somebody’s life.
Understand I’m not saying you shouldn’t keep a planner or an organizer.
No, pride the organization in your life! But do not allow yourself to think you have ALL control. If you knew each day from beginning, middle and end, I imagine you would grow quite bored. With my education still in progress and working a full time job and taking care of my son, I know I would certainly grow bored if I knew every aspect of my future! Yes, it’s scary and sometimes it’s dark. However, if you search with your heart there is always light in times of darkness.
Life is too fun to know its inner workings!
Today, something spontaneous will happen to you friend! Go ahead, smile at it!
Bad or good, it will change your life for the better!
About the author: My name is Anthony Johnson. I’m 23 years old. I have a son, who truly means the world to me. I’ve been writing for about ten years. It became a serious passion of mine about six years ago. I’ve done all types of unpublished writing such as; fictional short stories, poetry, inspirational and of course motivational pieces. My hobbies include running, biking or anything that will keep a sweat going for me! I’m also a huge advocate of board games with family and friends! I enjoy the simple pleasures of life. I consider myself a man/father trying to change the world one day at a time. What more could I actually ask for!?