Life Does Not Cease To Be Funny

"Life does not cease to be funny when people
die any more than it ceases to be serious
when people laugh."

*-- George Bernard Shaw


"Looking back, I have this to regret, that too often
when I loved, I did not say so."

*-- David Grayson


"Our favourite holding period is forever."

*-- Warren Buffett

Motivation Versus Inspiration - By Kenneth MacLean

I was listening to a lecture by Dr. Wayne Dyer the other day. Dr. Dyer said “I don’t think it’s really possible to motivate another human being…”

I began to think about that and I believe Dr. Dyer is correct. I believe that there is a subtle and powerful distinction between motivation and inspiration.

Motivation occurs when someone else persuades, cajoles, or coerces you into doing something. The company has a new customer relations policy which states “All employees, when answering the phone, must give the new sales pitch before identifying themselves and taking the customer’s question.” The motivation is two–fold: Failure to do so generates a less than favorable evaluation during the next employee assessment period. Increased sales, however, will lead to greater profit sharing amongst all employees.

Motivation can also happen on the reflexive flow, or self–to–self. “Somehow I have to get myself motivated at work,” a friend of mine said. “I need to get myself motivated to exercise,” my wife remarked last week.

Usually, motivation requires a kick in the butt from self or another, in order to reach a stated goal. But how often are these goals actually attained? How effective is motivation along the road to manifestation?

In politics, motivation is enforced by law. If you don’t pay your traffic ticket, your drivers license is suspended. Failure to pay your taxes results in a judgment against you, fines, and even jail. A cursory look at our society shows us that motivation by punishment doesn’t really prevent law breaking. And that is because such motivation is fear based, and very low on the emotional/vibrational scale. The higher, universal law of ‘like attracts like’ assures us that such “solutions” will just create more problems, which then need more laws, which then result in more problems…we soon reach a point where there are so many laws, and so many new laws passed, that Congress doesn’t even have time to read them! (In fact that is what occurs. Congress never reads the laws it passes).

Self–motivation is a little better, because it involves more free choice. If you are tired of being overweight, then more exercise and a better diet is a positive step in the right direction. What usually happens with self–motivation is that we begin with good intentions, and lose interest before very long.

Inspiration is a completely different animal, however. Inspiration is entirely self–generated, and comes from within. It results in a feeling of excitement and well being, and a desire to get into action immediately. When I wrote Dialogues Conversations with my Higher Self, for example, I’d wake up every morning fired up. I couldn’t wait to come home from work and get in front of the keyboard. I’d sit and write well past midnight because I just didn’t want to stop!

You might say that inspiration isn’t really possible in the mundane, workaday world. Going to work, paying the bills, taking the kids to school, making meals and doing the laundry and shopping aren’t exactly activities to inspire anyone. But ask yourself, “Why don’t I have an inspired life?” “Why aren’t I passionate about my life?” If you examine your life you’ll see that the things you don’t like doing NEVER come from inspired decisions! An element of “now I have to” or “now I’m supposed to” was, and is, always involved. “Yes, but I have to pay the bills! I have to go to work!” you might say. Well, maybe so. But why must these activities be less than exciting? The answer is that the state of being with which you created your job, and with which you continue to create your job, is not self–inspired! There are innumerable reasons why your life has to be the way it is. To the degree that these reasons have not been mindfully and consciously chosen, your experience will be less than enjoyable.

In the mathematics of fractals, the initial conditions are set up and then the fractal is generated from a repeating series of statements that feed into one another.
[fractal image of a seahorse. Sorry, but images aren't allowed in this article]
A fractal is extremely sensitive to changes in the initial statement. When the first statement is altered even slightly, an entirely new fractal will result:
[another seahorse, but has a completely different shape]
Life is often the same way. Your initial decision or intention guides your actions and the way you feel, until another decision or intention is made. In the physical universe we know this as Newton’s first law of motion: an object will continue along the same path until it is influenced by another force.

Like a fractal, a re–examination of your life in a mindful way can lead to an entirely new way to look at your job, your family, or your relationships. It can also lead to new decisions and new intentions, ones based upon inspiration!

The difference between motivation and inspiration is very subtle, but also very powerful. One is based on persuasion or coercion and often seems forced upon us, the other proceeds from conscious decision making and a connection to a higher, more beautiful aspect of ourselves. In order to see that aspect, however, one must first acknowledge and link to it. That is not as hard to do as you think!

Exercise:

1) Write down an area of life that is not going as well as you’d like.

2) Examine your thoughts and your beliefs in this area. Write them down without editing or trying to make yourself look good.

3) Examine your list and decide if there is any way you could change these thoughts in a more positive direction.

4) Do 3) until you feel inspired. Don’t try to force it, just let it come!

If you can successfully complete this exercise on just one area of your life, you will not only find yourself looking at this area differently, but might even discover an entirely new, and inspiring, direction for your life.

Popular writer Kenneth James Michael MacLean has written 6 books and numerous essays.

For more information, go to http://www.kjmaclean.com/Products/MainProductPage.html

For free eBooks, go to http://www.kjmaclean/Products/Freeebooks.html

Dependent On Effort

"Success is dependent on effort."

*-- Sophocles


"The doors of wisdom are never shut."

*-- Benjamin Franklin


"Love does not dominate; it cultivates."

*-- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Are You Stuck In One Of The Common Motivation Traps? - By Tim Connor

Everyone is motivated. However they aren't always motivated by the things that we would like them to be motivated by.

There have been countless studies and case histories done on the subject of motivation. Although there are many similarities as well as differences in their ultimate results there are several concepts that can be pulled from all the research regardless of its focus or purpose.

Motivation is often seen as an illusive yet critical idea when we attempt to discover what seems to push some people forward while keeping others stuck in a way of thinking, acting or believing.

Let's look at a few common consequences of the available body of research.

One. No one can ever have it all or do it all. People have motivation in degrees. Some seem to be overflowing with it while other's have trouble getting out of bed each morning..

Two. It is individual. What motivates one person often has no affect on the next person.

Three. To be effective for the long term it must be an inside-out, not outside-in process or philosophy.

Four. The common types of motivation of fear and reward have their limitations and
positive and negative consequences.

Five. People get it and lose it at various times in their life for very predictable and/or
very illusive reasons.

Six. Goals, values, beliefs, expectations, attitudes, circumstances, perceptions and emotions all play a vital role in a persons ultimate motivation..

Seven. Where there is an inconsistency between talent or ability and outcomes, motivation, whether positive or negative, always plays a role in contributing to why.

Eight. You can't measure motivation. You can measure results but motivation is not the
only factor contributing to results.

Nine. The word motivation contains the concepts of motive, goals or purpose and action. Purpose and motives can range from the idealistic, transitory and spiritual to the more concrete, practical and factual. Action can range from sporadic to focused, from a little to allot, from now to later.

Ten. No one can ever really know why another person does or does not do, feel or act in a certain way. Human behavior is somewhat predictable but it is not an absolute science.

Let's get back to the title of this article of common motivation traps. What are they?

As an employee as well as a business owner, father, speaker, consultant and trainer I have witnessed a variety of frustration among a great deal of people due to their lack of understanding of the concept of motivation and their relationship to and their responsibility for other people in their life.

Motivation and the amount of it, at any given time in a persons life, is a very personal thing. People can influence other people for good or for evil but the ultimate responsibility for a person's behavior is, has been and always will be, themselves. One of the greatest frustrations in a person's life is the unrealized expectation of another persons behavior. In other words, why won't my kids, spouse, parents, employees, customers, friends etc. act, think or feel the way I think they should? Why do these same people act, think and feel the way they do? Don't have a clue folks.

Our role as managers, parents, spouses, friends and so on is not to motivate other people. You see we can't really. Real motivation is an inside-out process. When we believe that we can motivate others, we are assuming motivation is an outside-in process. Our role is to create an environment where people would want to, and are able to motivate themselves.

If you look back at the two traditional motivators of fear and reward you will see that they 're both based on an outside-in philosophy. They are only as successful as the person being "motivated" is willing to let them influence them. For example if you use fear on an employee, let's say the threat of the loss of their job to get them to improve their performance. If they have the attitude, I don't need your job, I am a talented and hard working individual, I quit. Your threat was useless.

Fear and rewards as motivators are only effective if the person you are trying to motivate is concerned or interested in your threat of punishment or your reward. These motivators are really a motivational environment. Neither of these environments contribute to peak performance behavior within an individual. In the long term they are more negative than positive. Yes, even reward motivation can have its negative consequences.

People have not basically changed in the past several hundred years. Most people want the same things in life. Recognition and/or praise, challenge, a feeling they are making a contribution, security, to exercise the freedom of choice, the need to be in on things, to feel worthwhile and productive and the ability to have influence or control over their life and destiny.

If you want a motivated family, organization, team, department or group of any kind satisfy as many of the above needs for the individual or group as you can. If you want a de-motivated team, group, organization etc provide none of these.

Tim Connor, CSP is an internationally renowned sales, relationship, management and leadership speaker, trainer and best selling author. Since 1981 he has given over 3500 presentations in 21 countries on a variety of sales, management and relationship topics. He is the best selling author of over 60 books including; He can be reached at tim@timconnor.com, 704-895-1230 or visit his website at http://www.timconnor.com.

Everyone Shows Their Image

"Behavior is the mirror in which everyone shows
their image."

*--Johann Wolfgang von Goethe


"Destiny grants us our wishes, but in its own way,
in order to give us something beyond our wishes."

*--Johann Wolfgang von Goethe


"To know even one life has breathed easier because
you lived... is to have succeeded!"

*--Emerson

Living Your Dreams - By Olena Gill

Remember when you were a child, and someone asked you what your dreams for your life were? As children, we are tapped into our places of pure passion, for we know nothing else at that point. Somewhere along the road of life, it changes, becoming buried under mountains of the “have to’s”, “can’ts” and “shoulds”. And then one day, perhaps as we reach our thirties or fourties, we reach a point in our lives where we finally give into the inner restlessness—the restlessness that says “Hey, remember me? What about those dreams?”

There is a poster that sits on the wall above my computer in my office. It has a picture of massive rock formations that look like they couldn’t have possibly been built by a human. And underneath it is a caption that says: “I am grateful for my ability to reach for my dreams.” Each morning I look at this and am reminded that I have 100% capability of being the creator of every aspect of my life—not just envisioning it, but actually being involved in the process of making it reality.

You too are the creator of your life; that includes your dreams. I'd like to show you how easy it is to build a sure road map to creating them. It starts with a few, simple steps. Armed with your pen and paper, sit down and take a few, good, deep breaths. Then ask yourself the following questions:


1. What are my passions? In other words, what am I passionate about? What do I love to do more than anything?

Why are these questions important? It’s important because any vision for anything—your life, a goal to move towards, your purpose, all has an emotional component attached to it. It is the invisible force behind any action that you take. Without passion, there is nothing but hollow actions. My top passion is writing—when I was in late teenage years, I discovered that one of my dreams was to be a successful, published author. I couldn’t think of anything else that I’d rather be doing.


2. What are my values? In other words, what is important to me?

Whether it’s authenticity, integrity, peace, love, or money, values are vital when combined with passion, they lead directly to your vision for your life. Any dreams or vision must contain what you value, what you consider important, otherwise what’s the point of the dream?


3. What are my desires? In other words, what do I have a burning desire to do or be?

These can be anything. The sky’s the limit. When I was twenty years old, my #1 desire was to be on my own time schedule, get up whenever I felt like it and write books on mind-body-spirit issues. I can successfully say that five years ago, I reached it, and it was because that burning desire to be the master of my own time and create life the I wanted it to be, overrode everything else.


4. Now that I have ascertained my desires, what can I specifically commit to, in order to make these desires reality?

Why is this important? It's important because commitments give you a purpose and it signifies seriousness. One of my first commitments as a writer involved committing to a time target. I promised myself that I would complete my book by July 2006. I exceeded it and finished it April 1. Personal commitments are promises—promises that you make to yourself. They also energize you and help you to focus your energy.


5. Now that I’ve committed myself, what do I need to do get there?

The last steps are small bite-sized pieces of the picture. It’s like eating dinner. You don’t gulp down the whole plate at once, but take one fork-full at a time. This is the same with commitments and action steps. Using my book writing example, I made a reasonable action step of writing at least 100 words per day—sometimes I made it minimally, most often I exceeded it. But each day I took this step, it reminded me of the goal of completion, and the energy surrounding my completed book, kept me motivated.

George Burns said, "I would rather fail at what I love than succeed at what I hate." So, if you want to succeed, and experience the thrill of living your dreams, the first thing you need to do is declare your passions, values, desires and interests. Then decide that you will take that step to actively creating it—make commitments and action steps. I guarantee the rest will fall into place.

Oh yes, and my dream about being successfully published? It will happen next month.

Wisdom That Can Be Gained

"I have gathered the wisdom that can be gained
from personal experience.

I have accepted the healing that has come
from right attitude.

And, I have learned to be deeply grateful
for it all."

*-- Jamie Sams


"Sometimes our light goes out but is blown into flame by
another human being. Each of us owes deepest thanks to those
who have rekindled this light."

*-- Albert Schweitzer


"The amount you laugh in your relationships with others
is the true measure of the health of your personality."

*--Brian Tracy

An Enemy Called Average - By Larry Gibson

Are you on the couch? Are your dreams and goals sitting there with you? You are in the fight of your life, and you must defeat the enemy, the enemy called average. What is average? Are you an average middle class woman? What exactly is that? Is your favorite pastime taking care of the kids or working eight to five Monday thru Friday, then plopping down on the sofa every night watching mindless sitcoms, or is watching CSI your thing? Is that average?

Let’s face it, Moms are tired. Every day you take care of kids, do laundry, buy groceries, pick up dry cleaning, clean the house, make dinner, pay the bills, and on and on and on. Or, maybe you work full-time AND do all of the above. But, you love being a Mom. You enjoy every minute you spend with your kids but it is also important to take time out for yourself. You are overworked and underappreciated, but you are not average.

What are your dreams? What is important to you? Would achieving your dreams affect your life, your children’s lives, and your grandchildren?

Every great achievement begins with a dream, or vision of something exciting or different, a feeling deep inside that inspires and motivates you to aim higher that you ever have before. What is your vision for your life?

Allow yourself to have big dreams, huge dreams, and gigantic dreams. What others have done before you can do as well. What others have never even thought about, you can do! You may be comfortable. You may plan on retiring in 10, 20, or 30 years, putting a little into a 401k, or IRA and with social security, you plan on being comfortable. Don’t be comfortable. Do something great with your life.

Being a modern, 21st century mom is about attitude that is muted only slightly by 2 a.m. feedings. A Hot Mama is a woman who radiates confidence and a woman who loves herself and her family but isn’t consumed by the madness of motherhood. She knows how to balance her needs as well as the needs of her family. A Hot Mama has big dreams and goals. A Hot Mama does not settle for average.

Ask yourself these 5 questions, the answers will change your life:

1. If you continue what you’re doing now, will you have the kind of life you dream about?

2. What kind of life do you dream about?

3. If the way you are living today is OK, if you are comfortable, can you accept that is all you will ever have?

4. Do you want something so badly that not having it us unacceptable to you?

5. If something comes into your life that will enable you to get what you are looking for, are your ready to go right now?

You can make a difference. You can do something great with your life. You have the power in you, the power of ONE.

Andrew Jackson said, “One man with courage is a majority.” One man or woman can stand up and make a difference.

George Washington, at a critical point during the Revolutionary War, gathered his men; they were freezing, hungry, they were losing the war. They were not even Americans yet. They were Hampshire men, Virginians, Marylanders. What were they fighting for? Washington looked at his troops and said, “Let only Americans stand watch this night.” He gave breath to our Declaration of Independence. The power of One man.

Think back to 1996. Are you where you wanted to be back then? A decade passes quickly. More importantly, you should ask yourself how you are going to live the next ten years of your life. What actions can you take today in order to create a tomorrow that matches your dreams? The year 2016 will surely arrive; the only important question is where you will be.

You don’t have time. If you are eighteen do not wait until you are twenty-eight. If you are 60 do not wait until you are seventy, do not wait. There is not enough time to wait to do something great with your life.

Tonight, when you are home, sit down with the one’s you love, look them in the eye, tell them you love them, tell them what keeps you up at night, tell them what moves you, tell them what you dream about, then the next day go out and do something great with your life.

Make today the first day of the rest of your life. Get up off the couch, and leave your old friends, dreams and goals. Make new friends like Achievement and Glory, Go for It! If you can dream it, you can do it. You can be anything you want. Do not be comfortable. Be great. Make a difference. There is power in the number One. There is power in You! Do not be average, defeat the enemy. Do something Great with your life.

Aude Aliquid Dignum
“Dare Something Worthy”

Copyright 2006 L.L. Gibson Marketing Communications.

Article written for www.HotMamaBeautyandStyle.com

L.L. Gibson is the Director of Marketing and Communications, motivational speaker and author for www.HotMamaBeautyandStyle.com He is an expert on motivating work at home moms in their various business endeavors. This web site has a wealth of informative articles for the work at home mom.

Success and Failure

"Success and failure. We think of them as opposites, but they're
really not. They are companions -- the hero and the sidekick."

*-- Laurence Shames


"Friends are treasures."

*--Horace Burns


"The search for someone to blame
is always successful."

*--Robert Half

Exercising Your Risk Taking Muscles - By Stephen Hopson

Even experienced risk-takers get "butterflies" every time they take on new challenges.

A great way to exercise your faith muscles is by doing things slightly different every day like taking an unfamiliar route home after work, asking your boss for a raise or if you're self employed, raising your fees. If you tend to be quiet in group meetings, gather the courage and speak up. Say something even if it’s just a follow up question.

When I’m with a group of people, I tend to get lost easily because the dynamics of a group conversation tend to be different than one-on-one talks. In a group situation, everyone is usually talking at once - it becomes impossible for me to keep up with them. There was a time in my life when I would tune them out whenever the conversation became impossible to follow. My line of thinking was something like, "Oh well, they aren't saying anything important anyway." I would just laugh and smile, pretending I knew what was happening.

Nowadays I'm a lot more proactive and I'll either turn to the person next to me and strike up a conversation or I'll pipe up and address the group as a whole with follow up question. For example, if everyone was laughing at a joke, I'll risk my neck by saying, "What was that joke again?" By doing that, I don't feel so left out. It also serves to get me back in sync with everyone else.

If on the other hand, if you are by nature an outspoken person with strong opinions, why not try listening more? Be still. Resist the temptation to make yourself sound important. Watch what other people have to say. You might be surprised to learn something new.

What about asking the waitress to take back your lukewarm coffee and replacing it? Some people would rather not rock the boat and risk other people’s criticism by appearing to be a "pain." Who cares? You want a hot cup of coffee? Well, then ask for it! It's certainly within your rights!

Just the other day, I was out having lunch with some friends from church and I was served a dish with stale bread. I don’t know about you but I like my bread nice and soft so I asked the waitress to replace it. In the past, I might not have bothered because I didn’t want everyone at the table to disapprove of me. Crazy, huh? Indeed! Who cares what they think?!?

As I mentioned before, I miss out a lot on what’s being said in group conversations (in case you forgot, I'm deaf). I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to force myself to ask people to repeat themselves, putting myself at the risk of having others smirk, roll up their eyes or even sigh heavily (you can always tell when they do that because they heave their shoulders rather dramatically and appear to be taking incredibly deep breaths and blowing it all out). Who cares what they think?!?!?

All of these things are ways of building risk-taking muscles. No one wants to be rejected but so what if the other person gave you a dirty look or roll up their eyes? What’s the worst thing that can happen to you? Okay, your ego might get bruised or you might feel embarrassed but you’ll get over that, won’t you? Who cares what people think?

There's a book whose title I think is very appropriate here: "What Other People Think of You is None of Your Business." Pretty cool huh?

Consider the payoff that comes in the form of excitement and confidence because you risked your neck to do something you were afraid to do in the first place. People are more afraid to live their lives to the fullest than they are of dying!

Shaving my head in high school (for the swim championships) meant I would be bald the rest of the year and possibly ridiculed (I wasn’t – in fact, I gained more respect even though I didn't make the finals!). Going off to college meant I would live on my own for the first time (loved my newfound independence). Moving to New York City to work on Wall Street meant I had to change my living situation from suburban to city life (got used to it). Telling the VP at Merrill Lynch during an interview, "if you don't hire me, you will never know what I can do for this firm" opened the doors to incredible abundance. Quitting Wall Street to become a motivational speaker, author and pilot has led me to my wildest dreams. The list goes on.

Because I took risks little at a time and built them over a period of years, I've discovered that I was more than capable of surviving when I stepped out of my comfort zone. I've never had to worry about a roof over my head or putting food on the table.

If you decide to honor your life’s purpose or at least engage in a meaningful search for it, you will have to step outside your comfort zone.

Food for thought: Regardless of the decisions you're facing, remember risk- taking, unlike hope, is an action word. To develop it, you must exercise it regularly.

Profoundly deaf since birth, Stephen Hopson is a former award-winning stockbroker turned motivational speaker, author and pilot. He works with organizations that are ready to explore and overcome adversity because no one is immune from it - adversity does not discriminate. His professional speaking services, Obstacle Illusions, include fun and passionate presentations, especially the story of how his fifth grade teacher forever changed his young life with THAT'S RIGHT STEPHEN!

You can view his website at http://www.sjhopson.com

Stephen also maintains a blog called "Adversity University" at http://adversityuniversity.blogspot.com/

If you are curious as to how well Stephen speaks, listen to this audio post: http://adversityuniversity.blogspot.com/2006/05/introducing-myself-to-people-who-hire.html