Daily Mood Quote - August 6, 2011

 

Daily Mood Quote

Day 95 – August 6, 2011

If you paint in your mind a picture of bright and happy expectations, you put yourself into a condition conducive to your goal.

~Norman Vincent Peale

Norman Vincent Peale, the author of The Power of Positive Thinking also said, “Imagination is the true magic carpet.” I have always been a person who sees “the glass half-full,” even when dealing with negative people. Sometimes that requires a lot of imagination. I try to look for the best in others, but let's face reality, I am only human and sometimes its just not there, at least as far as I can see. So, occasionally you just have to “punt” (football season is coming soon!) to clear the slate and begin again. Letting frustration and disappointment build up is never a good idea. That includes letting the negativity of others wear on you. Eventually, repeated exposure without addressing the issue only drags you down. Is it really worth it? I don't think it is and yesterday at the grocery store I was on a tear... I'm not necessarily proud of it, but I had finally had quite enough. A forty cent increase on a loaf of bread (sweet Italian) was the last straw. Truth be known, my husband was the one who primed the pump by commenting on the price increase. So, there I was, in the middle of the produce department, looking at the dull and condescending stares of the other shoppers when the cork popped. Again, I'm not really proud of this, but a 33 percent increase, literally overnight, is a shock to an already tight budget. I was really looking forward to that tasty loaf of bread. Subsequently, I began to unload an impressive trail of derision and insult; commenting on just about everyone and everything. I was really rifting, right up to and through the checkout. Seriously, it was eerily reminiscent of Whoopi Goldberg on truth serum in Jumping Jack Flash. I'm not sure that “I'll be back” (Thanks Arnold Schwartzenberger, Terminator) there anytime soon. OK, enough said.

The point is that I finally got the negativity out of my system. Perhaps at the price of some minor embarrassment. Nothing worthwhile is without cost... But okay, now I can start with a clear canvas and its time to paint a happier, brighter and more colorful picture of the future. There is great power in imagination; it helps us to envision and begin to work toward a better, and more than half-full destiny. Napoleon Hill wrote in his treatise on self-empowerment Think and Grow Rich “Man's only limitation, within reason, lies in his development and use of his imagination.” Mr. Hill. might have been a touch chauvinistic in that statement, he was from a different time, so I'll just go ahead and include women too. If the first step toward a positive future is a positive attitude, then the walking stick is imagination. Dare to dream and dream big.

Let's end with a thought provoking quote, Ralph Marston said, “You've done it before and you can do it now. See the positive possibilities. Redirect the substantial energy of your frustration and turn it into positive, effective, and unstoppable determination.”

What positive possibilities will you see today?

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Daily Mood Quote - July 31, 2011

 

Daily Mood Quotes

Day 89 – July 31, 2011

Continuous effort - not strength or intelligence - is the key to unlocking our potential.

~Winston Churchill

Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.

~Mohandas Gandhi

When I sat down today, the last thing I wanted to do was write a blog, which is why this is late. It's hot outside and my knee hurts (old bike accident from many years ago). I was going to write about the third “F” of our family trying to find the new normal (my husband hates the "new normal" phrase), but I really don't want too. Remember, this is a mood quote blog. The country is going to heck in a hand basket (possible default on bills for our country, economic problems, high unemployment, and a gallon of milk has gone up 50 percent in the last week, not to mention gas prices). I am finding it difficult to be Little Mary Sunshine today (no, my name is not Mary). It would be so easy to quit after having two of the most disappointing weeks a family can have. I just wanted to scream and yell at everybody who is doing it wrong and tell them “YOU ARE DOING IT WRONG.” but that doesn't seem to help. Mostly, they just don't care. ARRRRGH!!!

One of the first things I do in the morning is check my e-mail, to see if there is anything I need to deal with immediately. This morning, I got an e-mail from my younger sister, who I believe reads this blog. She sent me an e-mail of encouragement this morning... it couldn't have been more perfectly timed, just when I was ready to quit. Here's what happened. Last week, she sent me an e-mail that was a test for “how old are your eyes.” The first test was find the B in several rows of R's, then find the 6 in several rows of 9s and so on. I found them all in this test, which is funny for a person with a vision disability. It took a few extra minutes and I enlarged the font size (maybe that's cheating, I don't know) but, hey there are “Vision issues here.” Anyway, I sent her back an e-mail reminding her, that she sent this e-mail to a visually impaired person. She sent me an e-mail that said, “I realize I sent this to someone who has a college degree and has an international blog...so where is the disability?...” She reminded me, I don't let anything get me down. Not for long anyway.

She was right and maybe this blog is about family after all. It seems no matter how much the world kicks your butt, family is there to pick you up. Even if you don't live in the same city, or state anymore. Sometimes “family” can be those few true friends we find in life. It's that little word of encouragement, at the right time, that helps people with their continuous efforts. Thanks Sis.

In the movie Rocky, Rocky (played by Sylvester Stallone) says to Adrian (Talia Shire), “I was nobody. But that don't matter either, you know? 'Cause I was thinkin', it really don't matter if I lose this fight. It really don't matter if this guy opens my head, either. 'Cause all I wanna do is go the distance. Nobody's ever gone the distance with Creed, and if I can go that distance, you see, and that bell rings and I'm still standin', I'm gonna know for the first time in my life, see, that I weren't just another bum from the neighborhood.” Well, I'm not a boxer, but I can and will “go the distance” (thanks ghost voice from Field of Dreams). I won't stop three feet short of the gold (Napoleon Hill - Think and Grow Rich). Let's see where it goes.

How will you apply continuous effort and indomitable will today?

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Daily Mood Quote

 

Daily Mood Quotes

Day 80 – July 22, 2011

“One of the most common causes of failure is the habit of quitting when one is overtaken by temporary defeat. Every person is guilty of this mistake at one time or another.”

~Napoleon Hill

One of the things in my life that has changed me is the understanding that there is no such thing as instant gratification. Like “normal” it is a cultural myth and it really can damage ones view of themselves and the world. So many in our culture are looking for that promotion, that pay raise, instant success without putting in the time. They want a job without a degree, raises without merit, acknowledgment without effort, respect without earning it and when they don't get it, they quit. They want it all and they want it now (thank you Queen). I wonder, has patience become a causality of our digital lifestyle, or did it start sooner with the advent of credit cards? I'm not sure, but it is an epidemic in our culture. You can fire up the computer and do book research in minutes, that once took hours and days, plus many trips to the library. You can publish that book instantly online for the world to see. The problem is; just because you can put it out there fast, doesn't mean it's any good, or that anyone will care. Doing, or getting anything of true value takes time; usually more than the majority care to allot to the effort. So, many are left wanting and wondering why they do not have the things they desire or success they seek.

Unfortunately, this behavior begs the question: Have we forgotten how to have patience and wait for something worth waiting for? Or, do we give up because it didn't happen fast enough for us? I believe it's a cultural side effect of our addiction to digital and media immediacy. The 24/7 news cycles and the “instant” online buzz doesn't permit us time to practice and develop successful skills. TNK IM KDDG U?.. we don't even use vowels anymore!

In the book Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, the point is made over and over that it is the persistence that delivers the goods and nothing can take it's place. Napoleon Hill's book is old (published in 1937) but the insight timeless. In his book, Mr. Hill tells the story of his uncle R.U. Darby who quit his gold mining operation three feet short of a major vein of gold, which was subsequently found by a scrap dealer who had bought his equipment. Mr. Darby learned a painful lesson, but, he used that defeat to turn it into a habit of "not quitting", which ultimately lead to his success. Even genuine talent like Michael Jordan's, who practiced diligently after being cut from his high school's varsity basketball team, needs work and time to become noteworthy. Michael's words -"I think that not making the Varsity team drove me to really work at my game, and also taught me that if you set goals, and work hard to achieve them—the hard work can pay off."

In the movie, Angels in the Outfield, Danny Glover as California Angels (a pro baseball team in the 1990s-now known as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim...I'm not kidding) Manager George Knox relates a simple but powerful truth: “You oughtta know how one incident can change the course of events.” But, if you quit that incident will not have the opportunity to happen. Persistence through adversity is the key to real and lasting success.

How will you view a temporary defeat today?

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Daily Mood Quote - June 11, 2011

Daily Mood Quote

Day 38 – June 11, 2011

A #2 pencil and a dream can take you anywhere.

~Joyce A. Myers

Except these days, the #2 pencil has been replaced by a keyboard. I am a dreamer, a realist and all around practical person. But, the hope of my dreams coming true keeps me from giving up. You see I love to write, I have been writing since I was nine years old and dreaming about becoming a writer for many decades. However, in the pursuit of that dream, life must be lived and sometimes those dreams can be and occasionally are, replaced by better dreams, or at least more attainable ones. I'm not completely certain about that. But, what I do know is that I have spent a lifetime changing a negative perspective into a positive one. Julia Roberts (who played Vivian) in the movie Pretty Woman with Richard Gere (Edward) said it best, “The bad stuff is easier to believe. You ever notice that?” 
 

Marcus Aurelius and Napoleon Hill agree, what you think about your life is what your life becomes. Unfortunately, that thinking, if a product of a negative upbringing, can be difficult, but not impossible to overcome. It takes work, a lot of hard work. Much of that work is internal and it is on attitude. I understand, because my entire life has been about dumping a negative attitude and replacing it with the positive, by developing understanding, education and love. Nothing is impossible if we set our minds to it and sharpen our mental #2 pencils.

As I look back on my life, I realized I could have been writing all along. Instead I allowed people within my sphere of awareness to influence and alter my true trajectory of life. Everyone has “the dreams of their heart”, what they truly were meant to be in life. Regrettably, we all to often let others attitudes over ride our hearts. I am no different, others have changed the course of my life with their opinions and it has taken many years, actually decades to get back on track. As the narrator in Pretty Woman says at the end of the movie, “What's your dream?”

What “dream” of yours will you rediscover today?

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Daily Mood Quote - June 1, 2011

Daily Mood Quote

Day 28 – June 1, 2011

 

“Think twice before you speak, because your words and influence will plant the seed of either success or failure in the mind of another.”

 ~Napoleon Hill

One of my favorite writers is Napoleon Hill. This quote gives me reason for pause every time I read it, because in my lifetime I have witnessed, been party to and made the mistake of not thinking before speaking. We are in a time where social networking, immediate responses and instant gratification have become the norm. The problem is when we “fire off” our statements before we think them through, the effect, in some cases, can be negative and lifelong. It can affect you, your career, relationships and loved ones, instantly.

Each of us individually has a great power. “The power of words.” I remembered as a child the phrase, “Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” Except words, they do hurt, they hurt everyone, the person you are speaking too, the issue you are speaking about and they hurt you, the speaker. “yes, sticks and stones can break my bones, but they will heal.  Words can hurt and can last a lifetime.” For many of us, words do last a lifetime. Words have the power to initiate peace, or create conflict. To make the world a better place, or much worse. Now, with social networking sites the words we say for the world to see, can be seen all over the world. What you put in cyberspace has a great affect, not just to the person or issue you are speaking about, but on any opportunities you may be seeking, like... a job. I know we may delete what we say, but truly once it is “out there”, it is there forever, and it doesn't matter how many times you hit the “delete” button. Someone somewhere read it before you deleted it, remembered it and pass it along through conversations. There is a concept called, “six degrees of separation” Imagine this recipe, you wrote something negative, someone read it, passed it along, and before you know it, it reaches someone who actually knows or has heard of you, now add some more negative words like, “I hate” or “embarrassed” or adjectives like “stupid” or “ignorant” and you are speaking about a class, social group or culture. The recipe result is disastrous, for you and those around you. As our little green friend Yoda (voiced by Frank Oz) said to Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker, in Star Wars: Episode V, The Empire Strikes Back... “Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny.”

I am not a big fan of being politically correct, but I am a fan of honesty and thinking before you speak. I had a college professor drive home the point in a communications class, “It's not what you say, it's how you say it.” When we choose angry and hateful words, we choose to have it come back on us. In an earlier blog (Day Seven, May 11,... I promise to not do many call-backs, but this begged to be restated) the quote was:

"It is my daily mood that makes the weather. I possess tremendous power to make life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration, I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis is escalated or de-escalated, and a person is humanized or de-humanized. If we treat people as they are, we make them worse. If we treat people as they ought to be, we help them become what they are capable of becoming.”
— J. W. Goethe

The simple fact of the matter is, you get what you give. No matter what you call it, the energy you put out there is the energy you will get back. Many would call that karma. My husband calls it balancing the universe.”

What will you think about before you communicate today?

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