Leave That Gloomy Outlook Behind

""The previous patterns of your life may have left you unhappy, and you may be gazing into the future without much hope, but you can leave that gloomy outlook behind.  Your journey to a new, happy future can begin right now!

-- Sandra Anne Taylor

When There Are Too Many Choices

"Having too many choices is also a problem. In a classic study, psychologists Sheena Iyengar and Mark Lepper set up a display table with twenty-four varieties of gourmet jam at an upscale food market. Those who sampled the spreads received a coupon for one dollar off any jam. On another day, shoppers saw a similar table, except that only six varieties of jam were on display. The large display attracted more interest than the small one . . . but when the time came to purchase, people who had seen the large display were one-tenth as likely to buy as people who had seen the small display.*"

-- Jeff Haden

Focus On The Small Steps

"Goals can be overwhelming if we focus on the end point. It’s easier to make progress if we focus on small steps that move us in the right direction."

-- James P. Owen

You Can Do It With 10 Minutes

"Ten minutes more in any facet of your life will yield huge results. In what area in your life would you like to see a huge, positive change, and are you willing to indulge an extra ten minutes per day toward that goal? Even if you are at zero time spent right now, imagine what an extra forty-two hours spent in that area will do for you this time next year. Don’t stop . . . just ten minutes more! You can do it!"

-- Robert Sully Sullivan

Be Aware of Your Fulfillment Needs

“Whenever I engage in something or I’m in the process of making a choice about something, I ask myself if my Fulfillment Needs are being met. I use this in my work life all the time, and I’ve found that I keep attracting interesting and fulfilling projects! It’s all very rewarding. I’m much happier and more fulfilled in my work life than I’ve ever been! I also keep my needs top of mind with relationships… very important to feeling a sense of connection that’s good and full of joy!” 

-- Rhonda

Give Your Dreams Strong Legs

"Many people have worthy, even exciting aspirations. Only a small percentage of people actually put these in writing and consistently read them. The moment you take these steps, you have separated yourself from the multitude that stops with a dream. You give your dream strong legs to run on."

-- Dondi Scumaci

Doing Work That Matters To You

"When you spend time each day engaged in work that matters to you, you improve your mood, build momentum, stir up your creativity, and become attuned to the opportunities around you. So don’t wait —get to work on something important today."

-- Ryan Babineaux

Are Your Choices Moving Towards Your Goals

“I want our students to ask, ‘Are my choices moving me closer to where I want to be, or are they impeding me?’ If you apply that question to every aspect of your life — your friends, the activities you choose to engage in, your work, your education — you might realize you need to change your priorities or your environment. If friends hold you back, get new friends. If relatives keep you down, make them distant relatives.”

-- James P. Owen

Be In Battle With Yourself

"This is what you find when you study the true masters of any profession. They don’t care much about winning, about money, about fame, about most of the things that have come their way as a result of their success. Their journey has always been toward something bigger. They aren’t running a race against the competition. They are in a battle with themselves."

-- Ryan Holiday

Pick Other People Brain

"Please understand, if you are okay with your life right now, that is perfectly fine. Your definition for success might be exactly where you are right now. Not everyone is wired to constantly seek to achieve more. However, if you feel like you need a change in some area of your life, I strongly urge you to find someone else today who is excelling in that area and set up a time to meet with them. Pick their brains and glean a nugget . . . today."

-- Robert Sully Sullivan

What Does Taking Responsibility Mean

"Taking responsibility means looking to yourself for answers when things go wrong and giving yourself credit when things go right."

-- James P. Owen

The Universe Need You To Be Specific

"The problem with not being specific is that your brain has no clear instructions on how to take the next step. Your mind has no measurable way to know if the moves you’re making are getting you closer to your goal. By not articulating what success looks like, in detail, you can’t possibly put together a roadmap that will get you there."

-- Brian Page

How Are You Spending Your Life

"THINK OF A time in your life when you were feeling happy, enthusiastic, and full of energy. Now consider what you were doing. Our guess is that you weren’t sitting at home eating Haagen-Dazs and watching reruns of Friends. If you are like most people, the times in your life that have been the most vibrant and meaningful were when you were engaged in exciting projects, taking on new challenges, learning fascinating things, immersing yourself in creative expression, or nurturing a significant relationship."

-- Ryan Babineaux

You Need To Back Up Your Dreams

“I learned that you have to back up your dreams with a plan. When I talk to people who are locked up, or in great trouble, they do not want to hear cliches about hope. So I tell them the truth: There is no such thing as a brighter future if you don’t have a plan. I call it ‘operational hope,’ which means hope backed up by a plan to get from point A to point B, and from point B to point C. It’s hope laid out in small, achievable steps.”

-- James P. Owen

Embrace The Power of Your Thoughts

"When I shifted gears in my thought process from all the negativity, I was experiencing and started thinking about what I could learn, how I could be a blessing to someone, etc., my day and disposition brightened tremendously. I encourage you to fully embrace the power your thoughts have not only on you, but on everyone around you. The next time you start a negative thought process, make a conscious decision to turn those thoughts around and see how it changes your attitude. Make it, “The best day ever!”"

-- Robert Sully Sullivan

How Optimists See Things

"Optimists see things differently. Setbacks are temporary, isolated events and solvable. They have a future focus; less concerned with what happened, they look ahead to options, solutions, and action. Optimists are not interested in fixing blame. They want to fix the problem. Blame is irrelevant"

-- Dondi Scumaci

Look At Those Facts Objectively

"If something has crushed your dream, do you find that you are in denial? I wasn’t really in denial—I didn’t think there was life after the NFL, so I hadn’t even reached the point of denial yet — but I was in a death spiral. I believed if I couldn’t play football, then life as I knew it was over. If you’re in denial about a crushed dream, or if you’re succumbing to the “death” feeling where demons roam and you believe that nothing matters in life anymore, you need to face the facts. We all have to look at those facts objectively and analyze our next move, no matter how painful it is."

-- Matt Mayberry

When Things Go Wrong

"Almost nothing in life goes exactly the way we want or expect. When things go wrong, some people lose heart while others buckle down and work even harder."

-- James P. Owen