Monday Motivating Mindset

THE HYPE

This weeks Motivating Mindset will help you live with more purpose.

THE CHALLENGE

Your Mindset challenge this week is getting in the habit of asking yourself:
"What do I want to change in the world?"


THE PROMISE

Ask yourself this question everyday until you find an answer, and then ask it everyday after that to make sure you stay the course.


THE TIPS

Everywhere in this world there is change.

We exist in a world where change is the only thing that is constant.


So if change is the only constant, then ask yourself, is it a good idea for you to have a constant approach to life?

Said differently, does it make any sense to try and stay the same in a world that is forever changing?

Of course not, yet isn't that exactly what we do when we spend all our time and attention thinking, feeling, and doing things the same way?

We call the preference to view life from the perspective of the mind our "identity".

Our identity is a collection of attitudes, biases and beliefs systems that we construct our view of the world with.

Some peoples identity is compatible with their reality, while the majority of other people's paradigms hold them hostage.

The desire to maintain our identity can keep us from fully embracing change.

However when it comes to accepting, handling, and dealing with change, including our ability to change our identity, Henry Ford had the best answer when he said...

"Whether you think that you can, or think that you cannot, either way you are right".

Is your current view of reality getting the job done?

Are you happy with the world that you live in?

If you are not happy, a great question to ask yourself is "What do I want to change in the world?"

Humans have all been given unique problem-solving powers beyond any other biological being on Earth and yet still we complain.

Out of all the unnecessary things in this world, nothing is more annoying than a person who continually grieves and grumbles about their problems.

Why? Because we have been given a mouth to vocalize opportunity, eyes to seek out solutions, and a body to bring us forward into action.

Our ability to reason, analyze, interpret, intuit and imagine are unprecedented and unparalleled in the animal kingdom.

These gifts have been bestowed upon every one of us living on this planet and far too often these go unnoticed and unused.

Everyday we have a choice, to either become part of the problem, or choose (even by default) to become part of the solution.

Not many people are prepared to do what they need to do today, in order to make a better tomorrow possible for them self.

In order to be the change you are meant to be in the world you need to follow your passion, find your power and live your purpose.

"You must be the change you seek in the world." --- Mahatma Gandhi

Now is the time to speak your truth, create your community and be good to each other.

Do not look outside yourself for your leader, become a mentor to your self and to others, lead by example.

As U.S. President Barack Obama suggested during one of his inspirational presidential candidate speeches, "we must become the difference that this world needs."

The Ancient Hopi Prophecy tells us that "We are the ones we've been waiting for."

There are many opportunities to get involved in your area, community, country or even continent.

One possible way to get started is by visiting http://www.change.org/ where there they ask the question "What do you want to change in the world?"


THE SECRET

Change does not happen by itself. You cannot change the world without first changing yourself.

We are all connected and no person can exist independently as an island unto themselves.

Yet for some reason we tend to think we are alone, isolated, and independent from the need of others.

But if you become sick, get hurt, or have an accident, don't you need some one else to take care of you?

A lot of people have grand intentions to save the world who cannot even save them self.

If you want to change the world you must change the view of your self.

The ancients taught us that "In order to heal others you must first be healed yourself, that "Healing Yourself IS Healing others".

Incidentally like all good things in life, this must be practiced to completion in order to understand it.

When you have completed healing yourself there will no longer be a world in need of healing rather a world of absolute perfection.

Free to live your life without fear, guilt, regret, or shame. Now you can reconnect with the purpose of why you are here in the first place.

Each one of us was born for a reason, whether that is to be an answer to a question, or a solution to a problem.

The next time you are alone ask your heart the question: "What do I want to change in the world?" and see what comes up for you.

Have you recently stopped to reconsider Where you are living, How you are living, Why you are living and What you are doing with your life?

What could you begin to change today that would result in the largest improvement to the quality of your life and/or those surrounding you?

Changes can happen on many different levels such as in social institutions, in the social behaviour or the social relations of a society, community of people, and so on.

When behaviour pattern changes, in large numbers and is visible and sustained it results in what is referred to as social change.

Among many forms of creating social change are theater for social change, direct action, protesting, advocacy, community organizing, community practice, revolution, and political activism.

What would you change if you knew you could make a difference?

Would you change the way people eat, work, play, think, feel, act, laugh, live, love?

You might wonder if you, your friends or a small group of people can possibly make a difference in such a large and complicated world.

"Never underestimate the power of a small group of committed citizens to change the world. Indeed, it has never been done otherwise." - Margaret Mead

You have the power within you to be the difference that makes the difference.

Even though you may not be aware of it, at any given point in time you may literally be the proverbial "straw that breaks the camels back", or the deciding factor.

An example of such simple things that can make a difference are: a smile, a warm hug, a candy, a toy, a note, a poem, a tune, an encouragement, a meal, gift, or gesture.

It is these small and seemingly unimportant things that add up to make significant changes in the overall outlook of the people surrounding us.

This is important because a significant deviance from culturally inherited values may result in a rebellion against the established system.

Isn't it amazing to think that your efforts could ultimately lead to the change in society that we have been looking for?

If you choose to, you can, and do, make a difference.

Once you decide to make that choice the next question to ask yourself is: "What do I want to change in the world?"

Monday Motivating Mindset

THE HYPE

This weeks Motivating Mindset will help you stop worrying and start living.

THE CHALLENGE

Your Mindset challenge this week is getting in the habit of asking yourself:
"What should I stop doing?"


THE PROMISE

Ask yourself this question at least once a day and you will reduce stress and get more done.


THE TIPS

At the end of your evening tonight, or first thing tomorrow morning, ask yourself the question:

"What should I stop doing?"

If you want to get more done it may seem a bit counterproductive to ask yourself this question, but stopping is actually an important part of the process of change.

Everything in our lives is like a door that can open new possibilities for us.

In order to fully move into any new part of life, or create a new reality for our self we must first close the door behind us that holds our old identity.

This is because in order to start one thing one must first stop doing something else, even if that something else was nothing.

For example, in order to be reading these words right now you are giving up the opportunity to do nothing.

You are also simultaneously giving up an opportunity to do something else like read a cartwheel if you were so inclined.

Some people refer to this as an 'opportunity cost', or what you have to give up when you commit to do something else.

Everything has an opportunity cost, the relationships we are in cost us other potential mates, our jobs cost us other opportunities to work somewhere else.

Subconsciously and consciously we are constantly trying to choose the best opportunities to take advantage of.

We decide what is most important in our lives by rewarding it with our time and attention.

Here is where the majority of us make a major error in judgment.

We mistakenly give up the opportunity to do what we "want/desire to do" in place of what we feel we "have to do".

Are you guilty of settling for less than you deserve in an aspect of your life? Chances are you have.

Answer 'yes' or 'no' to the following questions to see if you are spending your time wisely.

- Do you currently believe that "you have to do something", but realize that the something is draining your energy?

- Do you feel trapped by doing things the old way, pressured to perform a certain way, or have obligations that stress you out?

- Are you in a role you are no longer committed to, stuck in an unrewarding relationship, or working a jobs that is not fulfilling?

- Do you seem to find yourself "going through the motions" day in and day out?

If you have answered yes to any of the above questions then it might be time that you take something off your plate.

A great way to start the process of becoming more aware is in the consideration of the question:

"What should I stop doing?"


THE SECRET

Asking yourself "What should I stop doing?" is a great way to empower and enrich your current efforts.

Human nature is that we all want to get more done with as little time, money and energy as possible.

In life this is called 'Return on Energy' and in business it's called 'Return on Capital Expended'.

Whatever you call it at the end of the day the bottom line is that we all want to return more than we have to put out.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to be more effective and efficient in whatever you do.

After all, who willingly wants to waste their time, take longer than needed, or spend more money than necessary?

Absolutely no one. It's safe to say that 100% of the population would never consciously choose to do any of the above.

Yet how is it that most of us end up overwhelmed, frustrated or broke? What happened?

Were we that off base and delusional that we missed all signs of disaster?

Have you ever heard the old saying "It was the straw that broke the camels back?"

Its an old adage symbolizing a story upon which a camels back gets broken, seemingly all because of a single piece of straw.

Of course, we know it was the accumulation of straw over time that created those dire circumstances.

The same thing happens to us when we pile too many projects on the plate, the system is bound to breakdown.

Our when we take on projects, relationships, goals and jobs that are meaningless.

A part of the problem is that we say 'yes' to way too many things that we could be politely saying 'no thanks' too.

It doesn't help when we fail to see the pattern behind the mistakes that we repeatedly make.

If you are continually failing at something and not feeling motivated to move forward this is a sign to check your commitment.

Perhaps you are no longer interested in investing your time and energy into this, only you can tell. Be honest with yourself.

Every goal to be better, to reach higher, to obtain a new income level will require a new level of you.

You decide what experiences and memories you will fuse into the you that exists right this moment, and which aspects of your life to leave behind.

There is not enough time in our lifetime to spend it doing things that act in direct detriment to the loved ones in our lives.

Therefore it is a good practice to put only the things we truly value and the things we are really passionate about 'on our plate'.

Find areas where you feel over-stressed and discover roles where you are not 100% comfortable or committed.

Take time to record your roles and responsibilities every day. Be thorough and don't leave anything out.

Resolve to become more confident and committed to the roles you decide to keep.

Eliminate whatever roles that you can, and delegate whatever roles that you cannot eliminate.

Delegate and eliminate all the areas in your life that do not bring a good return on your capital, time or energy.

In a case where you have been attached to doing things a particular way for a long time, you may not be able to escape this separation pain free.

Unfortunately, sometimes when you finally decide to take your medicine you may have to amputate your foot in order to save your leg.

The best way to avoid a terrible situation like this is to ask yourself right now "What should I stop doing?" and then immediately begin to cut it out of your life.

Monday Motivating Mindset

THE HYPE

This weeks Motivating Mindset will help lead you back to a balanced lifestyle.


THE CHALLENGE

Your Mindset challenge this week is getting in the habit of asking yourself:
"How am I spending my attention?"


THE PROMISE

Ask yourself this question as often as possible to become more aware of your thoughts, emotions and actions.


THE TIPS

Time is our most precious resource.

Time cannot be replaced, renewed. or reversed.

The wealthiest person on this planet is one who has "free" time. Time to spend on what he or she desires.

The only thing that we can use to create, build and change anything in this world is time.

The only currency that we spend our time with is attention.

The next time you are about to devote any time or energy into a situation, a great question to ask is:

"How am I spending my attention?"

The only way to solve a problem is to give it some attention.

The only way to show love to someone else is to devote your undivided attention to them.

The only way we ever do anything in this world is through spending attention.

Yet were you aware that how everybody spends their attention is different?

Attention isn't a single unit of measure, rather it is broken up into three different but related "modes".

The modes in which people spend their attention is by either thinking, feeling or doing.

We spend our attention by choosing to feel some way, think some way, or do some thing.

Throughout the day we relate to the information around us by using one of these modes, usually a combination of two.

Picture three separate "dials" sticking out of your back with the values 0 to 10 on each of them.

A persons' thinking-dial might be turned up to 10, their feeling dial to 7, and their doing dial at 3.

When given something that requires our attention, let's say a problem to solve, we always approach it using our preferred mode.

A person with their thinking and feeling dial turned up like in the example above would be inclined to sit and think about the problem.

Where as the person with their "doing-dial" turned up would be inclined to do something about the problem and think or feel later.

There is no right or wrong way to give your attention in a situation, although the most beneficial way will always stem from being aware.

The next time you are giving attention, considering options or problem-solving ask yourself: "How am I spending my attention?"

When you answer, try to be more aware of the effects of what you are thinking, feeling or doing about the situation.


THE SECRET

What is your default dial?

Do you have a tendency to think, feel or do too much?

People tend to become very dominant using one particular dial, and support that strength with a secondary dial.

When we spend our attention primarily in one or two modes, naturally the third one becomes neglected.

There is no getting around the fact that we make our decisions with two of the three dials turned up.

People will therefore always have a "strong" dial, a "support" dial, and a "weak" dial.

As time goes on this leads to an over-compensation of two dials and an under-utilization of the third.

It is important to focus your attention on all three and avoid overlooking the importance of the dial you tend to ignore.

This is important to be aware of because we are only as strong as our weakest link.

For example, a person who acts primarily without thinking will not see the bigger picture behind their actions.

A person on the other hand who thinks and feels without action, will inevitably run into problems with procrastination.

You can tell which is your strong dial and which on is weakest by observing how you tend to react to new situations and potential problems.

Do you dive-in head first and figure things out along the way? If so, you are a do'er.

If you tend to be more reserved and analytical about the situation then you are a thinker.

Do you wait and see what your gut feels like before responding? If this is you then you are a feeler.

The goal is not to change your mode of spending attention, as that will only result in frustration.

Awareness is the main goal, for only once you have become aware of something can you decide to change it.

Become aware of what dials you use, how they affect your life, and how you can benefit from using your weakest dial more often.

A great question to gain awareness of your behaviour is to ask yourself: "How am I spending my attention?"

Monday Motivating Mindset

THE HYPE

This weeks Motivating Mindset will help you live with more fun and freedom.


THE CHALLENGE

Your Mindset challenge this week is getting in the habit of asking yourself:
"Is this conversation I'm having with myself encouraging?"


THE PROMISE

Ask this question to center yourself whenever you become aware of your self-talk.


THE TIPS

Did you have a conversation with yourself today?

The answer is yes because every body in the world talks to them self.

Day-in and day-out we humans exercise our unique ability to talk to our self.

This ability is unparalleled in the animal kingdom, meaning no other species on the planet uses self-talk.

However, the real question to ask is not whether you have talked to yourself, but when was the last time you encouraged yourself while talking?

How often did you encourage yourself last month? How often last week? How about today?

If you are like most people, you can probably use one hand to count how many times.

This is because most people don't encourage themselves on a regular basis.

Why this occurs is a mystery to science and psychology.

One thing is for certain, poor self-talk is certainly not the way that nature intended for us to use this gift.

For example, how would it appear if you walked up underneath a tree and caught it talking to itself the way humans do?

Imagine it saying "Oh no they're falling off again! I must be a bad tree, my own leaves don't even want to stay on me!"

This would be simply ridiculous wouldn't it?

The same thing would happen if any animal acted in this manner wouldn't it?

Yet day in and day-out we continue to have negative and pessimistic conversations with our selves.

It is absolutely incredible that we allow these crazy conversations with our self to continue.

The best way to change this terrible trend of self-talk is to become more aware of how you talk to yourself.

Ask yourself "Is this conversation I'm having with myself encouraging?" whenever you find yourself debating, or talking to yourself.

The more you ask this question, the more that you will become aware in future conversations.

The more you become aware of your conversation, the better you can consciously ensure that your self-talk is encouraging.


THE SECRET

In any moment any bodies life on this planet can end.

Nobody really knows when this moment could occur for them, only that it will occur.

The only person that will be around at that time for sure is you.

When this moment happens you will again have a conversation with yourself.

When you speak to yourself during these final moments will you be encouraging to yourself?

Will you be able to look back and reflect in peace with the feelings of joy, adventure and gratitude that you felt for your life?

Or will the dialogue be filled with guilt, anger and regret from having an unnecessarily miserable relationship with yourself?

The bad news is that sooner or later one or the other will inevitably happen.

The good news is that starting right now you have the choice to decide which one.

Every moment of self-talk is an opportunity to build a better relationship with yourself.

Ask yourself "Is this conversation I'm having with myself encouraging?" to check-in with yourself during the day.

Your goal is to become your own best friend and your own biggest fan.

Figure out ways that you can use self-talk to speak to yourself as if you were head-over-heels in love.

Your challenge is to do the following simple but powerful exercise.

Imagine that you are so in-love with yourself that you can only compliment and encourage yourself.

After you wake up tomorrow say to yourself "congratulations, I must be awesome enough to have another day to be me, what a joy!"

Then you walk to the bathroom, flick on the light and give yourself a mental high-five for hitting the switch your first try.

When you pick up the right toothbrush and turn on the tap say to yourself "another job well-done!"

After you pick out an outfit, how about saying "wow.. absolutely stunning, world watch out for me!"

Continue on throughout your day in this way, complimenting or encouraging yourself at every conceivable opportunity.

The more genuine and honest you are with yourself the more self-confidence and personal power you will gain.

Try it for one day and watch in amazement at the energy you have and the emotions you feel!

Monday Motivating Mindset

THE HYPE

This weeks Motivating Mindset will discover the secret of how to create more happiness whenever, wherever no matter whatever happens.


THE CHALLENGE

Your Mindset challenge this week is getting in the habit of asking yourself:
"Will I cherish the memories I am creating in this moment?"


THE PROMISE

Ask yourself this question and you will be able to live with less regret and more peace of mind.


THE TIPS

Most of us talk to ourselves a lot, in fact we do it day-in and day-out.

We talk ourselves into doing things and we talk ourselves out of doing things.

The problem is that we often get these two mixed up, that is, we talk our-self out of growth opportunities in order to spend our time doing things that keep us playing small.

We justify doing this for various reasons such as fear, lack and keeping within our comfort zone, etc.. but the bottom line is that giving up on dreams doesn't feel good.

One way to challenge your mental chatter, is to ask yourself the question "How can I find a way to cherish the memories I am creating in this moment?".

If you cherish the moments as you create them in the moment then they will become cherished memories in the future.

Yet how many times do we use the moment instead to think about all sorts of personal robbing and confidence stealing scenarios?

One such confidence stealer is worry.

It makes no sense to choose to spend your time in the moment worrying about some memory that has yet to happen.

Will your worrying produce a cherished memory that you will look back on in time and say "yeah, that was time well-spent?"

The answer is probably not because 99% of the time our worries never manifest, at least in the horrendous way that we fore-casted.

Another personal power robber is judgement.

Have you ever wondered where bad ideas and stupid mistakes come from?

There is no thing as a "bad" idea as long as we learn from the experience.

These are just labels in judgement, unflattering descriptions of the events that unfolded.

They all come from our imagination, merely fictions that we create.

What time teaches us is that often what we thought was the worst thing to happen to us was really a blessing in disguise.

Asking yourself "How can I find a way to cherish the memories I am creating in this moment?" will help you see the blessing faster.


THE SECRET

How often do you have to ask yourself the question "How can I find a way to cherish the memories I am creating in this moment?"

The answer is only as often as there are moments, only as consistent as you want to be empowered in those moments.

There is a moment every second, there are 60 seconds to a minute, 60 minutes to an hour, 24 hours in a day, 30 days in a month, 12 months in a year.

The standard measurement of these unique moments are what's known as experiences.

What type of experiences and unique moments did you cherish this year?

Our experiences accumulate as memories, which ultimately shape and influence our future experiences and memories.

How can you use the cherished memories of last year to influence the memories that you want to create this year.

The moments that make up the existence of our reality pass by for everyone equally at the rate of one second per second, what we do with those moments is what separates us all.

If you are 30 years old today, then since you were born you would have accumulated 3,153,600 hours worth of potential memories, how have you used them so far?

Many people feel that they are forced to accept people, places and situations, basically that they have no choice.

Thinking that you never have a choice is always an illusion because you always have a choice.

We may not like our choices and in some cases we may even be restrained from "physical" action in a situation.

However the choice that always remains is your attitude about the present moment.

You have a choice to decide if your attitude resists the moment or goes with the flow.

The biggest skill you can teach yourself is allowing the present moment to unfold in a symbiotic and loving way?

When you learn to adjust the attitude on the fly, your life will begin to become easier, lighter, less stressful.

"When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going" is a popular song originally recorded by Billy Ocean in 1985.

It is also an over-popularized cliché quoted by mentors, managers and motivators.

Basically it means that when situations in life become difficult, strong people show their strength by rising to the occasion.

The next time you are caught in a situation that you would rather not be in, before you take action ask yourself "How can I find a way to cherish the memories I am creating in this moment?" and then "get going"!

Monday Motivating Mindset

THE HYPE

This weeks Motivating Mindset will help you weld the power of your mind.


THE CHALLENGE

Your Mindset challenge this week is getting in the habit of asking yourself:

"What is the value of my attitude right now?"


THE PROMISE

Asking yourself this question as many times as possible will inevitably increase the value of your attitude.

THE TIPS

Ask yourself this question "What is the value of my attitude right now?" immediately when you wake up tomorrow morning.

Take time to reflect what the value of your thinking will produce at the end of the day.

The value of the seeds you plant now is the potential quality of the harvest you'll reap later.

The thoughts that you allow now will lead to the feelings that you have later.

The feelings that you have later will govern your future actions.

Your actions are the bridge between your results, meaning if you want anything you are going to have to do something to get it.

Therefore if you want to be of value, produce value and have a valuable day it all starts with your attitude.

Ask yourself "What is the value of my attitude right now?" to ponder the compensation you might get for your thoughts at this moment.

Do your thoughts make you feel like a winner or more like a loser?

Does your attitude make you more confident in the long run or ultimately more insecure over time?

A good healthy attitude is one that you can question time after time because your true motivations will be mapped within your spirit.

Only your higher-self knows the path to happiness and joy and you can only follow that path by listening to your higher-self.

The biggest challenge is that your higher self speaks very softly and often not at all.

Your lower-self, your ego, knows how to say the right things at the right time to manipulate you.

Ask yourself "What is the value of my attitude right now?" to see if your thoughts are coming from your higher or lower self.

The answer that you get back will be in the form of your feelings.

Thoughts from your lower-self will leave you feeling less worthy and deserving.

On the other-hand, thoughts from your higher-self will make you feel like taking inspired action!

Always be aware that both possibilities and potentials exist inside of you at all times.

Through the power of choice we decide whether to adopt an attitude with increasing or decreasing value.

Ask yourself "What is the value of my attitude right now?" to ensure you are exploring the situation in a way that will truly benefit you.


THE SECRET

The best way to determine whether or not something is beneficial is with a question, and that is:

"What is the value of this attitude in the future?"

What will continuing to think this way do over time?

If you have an attitude that makes you feel small and insignificant how will that effect you in a month from now?

If you have an attitude of lack that keeps you financially challenged how will that effect you in a year from now?

If you have an attitude that produces a continual feeling of guilt, shame, of anger what would that attract back to you?

The human body is like one giant magnet, and we also know that when it comes to magnets, like attracts like.

The mechanics behind this phenomenon is what's widely known now as the Law of Attraction.

Many people are starting to realize that the truth is that you do attract the incessant thoughts and dominant feelings held within yourself.

The Law of Attraction will attract back to you the value of the attitude that you are choosing right now.

In the future you will be living the circumstances in which you attracted previously, so think wisely.

Ask yourself "What is the value of this attitude in the future?" as a starting place for positive results.

If you could look back a month ahead from this point today, what would you say about the value of your attitude about things were?

With your conscious choice you have the ability to increase the value of something just by paying attention to it.

Paying attention to something with the intention of adding or increasing value is referred to as "appreciation".

The focus of your attention should be on appreciation, coincidentally the most valuable use of your time in the moment.

These moments of appreciation will naturally begin to compound together and over-time this will become "momentum".

When you focus your attention on appreciating the moment you set the next moment for more to be appreciative about.

Momentum is simply the feeling that your past efforts were made with the intention finding appreciation for every moment.

Ask yourself "What is the value of this attitude in the future?" to see if you are setting yourself of future failure or success.

With continual practice you will begin to hear the soft whispers of your higher-self more clearly and more often.

Use the new voice in your head, the true navigation system to lead you to the promise land of your highest intentions.

Monday Motivating Mindset

THE HYPE

This weeks Motivating Mindset will help you live guilt and regret free.


THE CHALLENGE

Your Mindset challenge this week is getting in the habit of asking yourself:

"Will being offended solve my problem?"


THE PROMISE

Ask this question at every minor and major case you find yourself offended and you will be able to better respond to those situations in the future.


THE TIPS

The next time something or someone rubs you the wrong way, and before you give it too much of your energy and attention, stop and ask yourself:

"Will being offended solve my problem?"

The universal answer to that question is... Never!

Ask yourself "How many times has being offended solved anything in my life?"

And the universal answer to that question is still... Never!

Yet being offended, passing judgement and criticizing situations is something that we all do, many of us on a daily basis.

Being offended does nothing to satisfy the situation, and it certainly doesn't benefit the person or thing that offended you.

It is good to detach yourself from these situations because many times the offender doesn't even know they committed the crime.

Asking "Will being offended solve my problem?" is the first step in effective problem solving.

Instead of focusing on the reasons to be offended, or justifying your revenge, take a look at what is really bothering you here.

Becoming and staying offended cannot help you, but challenging yourself to look at the reason why you were offended in the first place can help you tremendously.

Anytime you are "overly opinionated" about anything it is reason for you to explore deeper.

There is no shame, guilt or regret involved with getting to know what offends you.

In fact there is nothing wrong with being offended, the problem becomes when we don't know or don't care why.

To know why you are offended is a chance for you to get familiar with your values.

Everybody must strive to put our values and motives under the microscope of truth.

Why not? After all we expect to keep our Government and Elected Officials in-check.

Why shouldn't we take the same approach of scrutiny and standards to the main motivator behind our own behaviour?

Ignoring the reasons why you are offended will not shed any insight whatsoever into what to do about it, or how to get over it.

Whenever you feel emotion about something or someone it is more a reflection of yourself than of what you think caused the feelings.

You are responsible for self-governing your feelings and asking yourself "Will being offended solve my problem?" will help you put your thoughts, feelings and behaviour into clearer perspective.


THE SECRET

Asking yourself "Will being offended solve my problem?" helps remind you that being offended is not at all productive.

If you want to be productive one of the first questions to ask yourself whenever you feel offended is "what does this situation say about me?"

What do the thoughts and feelings that you have towards this situation say about you?

Being offended in a situation only shows people the way in which you judge others.

Continuing to remind others of how and why you are offended can only bring you more of being offended.

This can be summed up by the saying "you get out what you put in". Putting in complaints doesn't grow roses.

If you had a banana and you continued to cut it up into pieces, no matter what at the end of the day you would still have a banana.

You would never cut up a banana and expect to have orange slices right?

Being able to see why you were offended and what that insight reveals about what you are made up of on this inside is priceless.

With humility and practice you will develop the ability to respond better and offer a more balanced perspective.

A well-balanced perspective comes from being able to ponder yourself in the equation, both as the problem and as the solution.

This detached state of being is called introspection, or reflection and is generally accomplished through meditation.

With gentle introspection you will see reflections of both the conscious and subconscious programs that operate your world.

Yet for some strange reason many people fear stillness and shy away from taking a serious look inward.

Maybe because unless you grew up with a Yogi next door we were not taught how to meditate or exposed to the value of it.

Whatever the reason, it is an illusion that we can some go through life and avoid getting to know our self.

It is in our best interest to get to know the person we are stuck with no matter what.

No matter where you go, there you are, so the faster you get to know all aspects of your self the better.

Keeping the above metaphor of a self-government in mind, wouldn't you like to know if your elected "body" was doing a good job?

If you wanted to keep things accountable you would definitely require studies and analysis.

Don't be afraid to study your self, your motives, your behaviours, your thoughts and your habits.

Be your own best friend, become tag team partners with your self and together you will wrestle the challenges of life.

The better your relationship with your self, the better results that you will get.

When you are not getting the results that you are looking for, or find yourself emotionally attached to something, ask yourself "Will being offended solve my problem?" to move forward faster.

Monday Motivating Mindset

THE HYPE

This weeks Motivating Mindset will help you lift burdens, clear clutter and feel lighter.


THE CHALLENGE

Your Mindset challenge this week is getting in the habit of asking yourself:

"Am I tolerating this situation by default?"


THE PROMISE

Ask yourself this question every chance you can and you will pave the way for massive changes in your lifestyle.


THE TIPS

Take a quick moment and ask yourself right now, "What am I tolerating?"

This is the same question that was posed as a Monday Motivating Mindset many months ago.

Just in case you have forgotten or aren't sure what a toleration is, the definition we are using is:

A toleration is any person, situation, or action that you put up with that you really don't need to.

A toleration is an undesired consequence, an unfinished agreement or simply a situation that needs re-framing.

This weeks mindset is a derivative of that question, "Am I tolerating this situation by default?"

People get caught up in the illusion believing that they have little or no choice to way they've been doing it.

The problem for most people is that they convince themselves that they need their tolerations to begin with.

The next time you find yourself facing a continual roadblock or swimming against the current ask yourself:

"Am I tolerating this situation by default?"

The feeling that you are swimming against the current is a sure sign of a toleration.

Life is meant to be sailed downstream and tapped into the flow of abundance.

If you don't feel tapped in then it is because you are blocking the flow of it.

So how do you get out of your own way when you are blocking yourself from joy, love and happiness?

You do it by first realizing that the blockage is due to a toleration that is based on an assumption.

What belief system, attitude or approach can you let go of in order to go more with the flow?

Tolerations zap our energy whether we consciously realize it or not.

Tolerations are unresolved demands on your attention, energy and focus.

They can be as simple as tolerating a squeak in the door or neglecting to repair a leaky faucet tap.

Tolerations can also include our relationships with other people, the standards we uphold and the work we do for a living.

Over time people tend to settle in their comfort zones, challenge their beliefs less and gain more tolerations.

The next time you find yourself stuck in a situation you don't enjoy ask yourself "Am I tolerating this situation by default?"


THE SECRET

Often the only reason a situation is allowed to endure is the assumption that answer is difficult or even impossible.

For example, a friend recently confided that she finally finished tolerating her old shower head and finally put on a new one.

Before fixing it the shower head would often unscrew and water would launch into the air everywhere.

Even though her and her roommate had already purchased the replacement shower head, in other words already possessed the solution to the problem, it was just not implemented.

When queried why she didn't change it sooner she admitted her assumption that changing over the shower heads would be a long and hard job.

Apparently the shower fixings looked like they were stripped or at least appeared very difficult to take off.

Fearing that there would be problems when removing the old shower head she settled everyday for an annoying shower experience.

However, one particular day the inevitable happened again while taking a shower and the head came off and the hose sprayed everywhere.

Tolerations can only last so long and in this case it was the proverbial straw that broke the toleration.

Finally, after having enough of the daily morning mayhem she grabbed the old fixing with her bare hands and started to unscrew it.

To her complete surprise the fixing came undone easily and without any hassle.

Then she was able to replace the brand new shower head and was showering new and improved again in mere moments!

Most importantly this whole process occurred without all the anticipated fuss and work that she previously worried about.

After enjoying the next couple days in the shower she realized that not only did she avoid the negative feelings associated with a leaky shower head, but she actually felt an increase in her happiness.

Was it because she no longer had to silently account for all the emotional energy that came with the old shower?

Or maybe it was because she could enjoy her morning showers with relaxation and the added benefits of the newer style nozzle.

One thing is for sure is that the next question that she wondered out loud was "why did I put up with this for this long in the first place?"

People often put up with unfinished and unresolved actions that could be addressed with just a little time, effort and attention.

We often walk with a limp because we are taught or convinced to, but when we learn to stand tall and take everything in stride we find out we are even more capable then we first thought.

Ask yourself "Am I tolerating this situation by default?" to find out where you can gain some precious energy back.

At the very least what will happen when you brainstorm an answer is that you'll start to attract new information and experiences that will lead you to a higher perspective.

This is important because the higher your perspective in life the less that you will tolerate in your life.

The truth is the only limits that exist are the ones that we hold ourselves down with.

Ask yourself "Am I tolerating this situation by default?" in order to stretch your perspective to the sky and never settle for less.

Monday Motivating Mindset

THE HYPE

This weeks Motivating Mindset will help you cut through the confusion, push past procrastination and propel you to peak performance.

THE CHALLENGE

Your Mindset challenge this week is getting in the habit of asking yourself:

"What is stopping me from getting started now?"


THE PROMISE

Ask yourself this question at every obstacle, roadblock and dead-end that you come across and you will experience big breakthroughs.


THE TIPS

Close your eyes right now and picture something that you really, really, really want.

Close your eyes again and don't open them until you can clearly picture what you desire.

Once you have a definite picture in your mind ask yourself the question: "What is stopping me from getting started now?"

There will be many different reasons why you aren't getting started, but chances are high they fall into two categories of answers.

One, you will either come up with the answer that you don't know what you want, or two, that you know what you want but don't know how to get it.

If you came to the conclusion that you don't know what you want that is impossible because every human on this planet has hopes, dreams and desires.

Just because up to this point in your life you aren't "consciously" aware of any of your goals doesn't mean that you don't have any.

We all have a purpose on this earth, you wouldn't be here if this wasn't true because the Universe operates on the Law of Cause and Effect.

There is a cause that is deep seeded inside yourself, a unique solution that only you were brought to this planet to express.

Throughout your live your goal whether accepted it or not is to become more like the person outside that you envision inside your mind.

That means, being the quality of person that you and only you know that you are capable of unfolding into.

Sadly somehow along the way though the majority of us become overwhelmed or frustrated with the process and give up growing.

Little do we realize that all the challenges were put in the way on purpose, to create the value of achievement and accomplishment.

In fact, if you were able to instantly manifest your biggest goals, wildest dreams and ultimate desires then those targets wouldn't be very valuable.

When there is no risk then there is no challenge, and when there is no challenge it equals a very poor payoff.

This is because when you achieve a worthy goal you are rewarded by the chemicals produced in your brain that make you feel happy, content, fulfilled.

Therefore, every hope, dream, desire and goal must have an inherent degree of risk associated with accomplishing it.

The bigger the perceived reward the more risk and challenges those courageous and brave are willing to go through to make it happen.

The next time you are faced with a challenging goal or project ask yourself:

"What is stopping me from getting started now?"

Have you given up on your hopes and dreams because of a story that you have been telling yourself?

We tell ourselves stories that usually start with I would love to____________ and then end with "if only", "but because" or "but I can't".

We tend to re-enforce and justify these fictitious stories with real life emotional examples and experiences that tell us we are right about giving up.

Consequently these stories separate you from your true desires and continue to keep you playing small.

If you have conclusive evidence, experience and examples of why your story is "true" why not take a brief moment to only pretend for a moment that it wasn't.

If the story you've been telling yourself has not been true then ask yourself: "What is stopping me from getting started now?"

The bottom-line basic truth whether you like it or not is that nothing is stopping you from getting started right this moment except yourself.

Even if you cannot complete the full task you can certainly move confidently in the direction of your dreams and desires inch-by-inch.

List everything that needs to be done, break the tasks down into more manageable chunks and then tackle the most important ones first.

When it comes to accomplishing anything, achievement expert Brian Tracy says "by the yard it is hard but inch-by-inch it's a cinch"

Therefore the most important skill in manifesting your dream life is learning how to get out of your own way and just get started.


THE SECRET

Deep down everybody wants to feel worthy, deserving, loved and lovable.

Each member wants to contribute to causes that are close to their heart and be respected in the lives of loved ones.

Have you ever stopped to think how is it that we can end up so far away from these goals? What truly stops us from doing what we want to do?

Asking "What is stopping me from getting started now?" will uncover any areas that you might need to work on.

Once you find out what is stopping you from getting started you must focus all your time and energy into solving it.

If you are procrastinating, confused, or feeling alone, then realize that you are completely normal and that we all do it out of fear.

Fear is something that we all experience and is the number one block that stops us from getting what we want.

Some common examples are fear of failure, fear of success, fear of rejection, fear of the unknown and even fear of looking foolish.

However if fear is what we all have in common then what separates the top-performers from the under-achievers must be their ability to deal with and overcome fear.

From now on whenever you start to feel the fear holding you back, then you should immediately regard it as a sign you must forge ahead.

Whenever you reach a barrier to your success you must not give up and instead learn how to climb over the wall.

We tend to think that nobody has ever experienced anything quite like the challenges we personally have been through.

However consider that despite your physical structure and experiences being unique, you have the exact same physical and mental capacities that anybody else had in history.

You were born with the same problem solving prowess that people like Galileo and Gandhi, Napoleon Bonaparte and Napoleon Hill had.

Think about that for a moment, no one ever knew for sure how to achieve any of the great accomplishment in the history of the world.

Sir Edmund Hillary didn't have a "Climbing Mount Everest For Dummies" to guide him step-by-step up to the summit.

No one "knew" how to get to the moon, it was something so monumental that it had truly never been done before.

The truth is that your problem, even if your problem is figuring out exactly what your problem is, has most likely already been solved by somebody else.

That is why 12-step programs like Al-Anon are so popular, simply because they show people that they are not alone with their problems.

A great idea is to find a friend who has experienced something similar, a mentor you look up to, or a coach that can act as an unbiased mirror.

With a success team in place and armed with all the ability you'll ever need, trust yourself to come up with the answers when you ask yourself:

"What is stopping me from getting started now?"

Monday Motivating Mindset

THE HYPE

This weeks Motivating Mindset will help you transform yourself into the person that you always knew you would be.


THE CHALLENGE

Your Mindset challenge this week is getting in the habit of asking yourself:
"Who am I becoming?"


THE PROMISE

Ask yourself this question as many opportunities you have this week and the promise is you will instill more pride, passion and purpose into your everyday living.


THE TIPS

First thing when you get up tomorrow morning ask yourself the question, "Who am I becoming?"

Relax and allow your mind to wonder freely while taking a few moments to ponder your answer.

When you picture your future self are you happy, proud or excited about the person that you are becoming?

As you reflect this question for some of you it may feel uncomfortable, you may feel the urge to pass judgement, or simply feel this is a question that doesn't seem to make any sense.

Some of you may not be able to answer the question, which is ok too, and if this is the case for you then it is important to realize that the asking the question itself is often more important than the answer.

"It's the question that drives us" --- Trinity (The Matrix, 1999)

We are all unique and the answers that each and every one of us comes up with will be different, however, as individuals there are a few things that we all share in common.

One such example is that regardless of what your race, height, weight, IQ, EQ, career, education, relationship or socio-economic status is we all have the same set amount of hours in a day to work with.

We each get 24 hours in a day, 60 minutes in an hour, 60 seconds in a minute and each second passes by at a constant rate of one second per second, no matter what!

Therefore the person you are becoming is becoming so at a rate of one second per second every day.

You might be tempted to dismiss the power of each second, after all you might think to yourself "what good could possibly happen in one second"?

Like for instance who would want a one-second massage, one-second marriage or one-second shopping spree right?

However when you stop to really think about it, this second right now, not the second that just past, or the second from now, is really the ONLY second we EVER have.

Every second that passes is part of yesterday, the second that has "yet-to-come" will always belong to tomorrow.

The second known as "now" brings the gift of choice, and with it the power for any personal or life transformation.

This eternal second is shared by all, a gift, a present, the gift of the present moment.

When you ask yourself "Who am I becoming" do you notice that you are becoming someone who is increasingly friendly with, and passionate about the present moment?

Anything that you can ever do or anything that will ever be done to you will happen in the present moment.

The best way to give yourself the best chance of becoming a better you is to first learn how to stop looking at the old you as a reference point.

Your results today indicate your previous habits and your habits are a result of the accumulation of yesterday's choices.

The old you is a result of your old choices and decisions, and cannot be the result of the new choices and decisions that are available to you in this moment.

Even though you can see it with your own eyes, the old you is just an illusion, a fictional identity that only exists in our imagination.

It is fictional because we have the ability to change who we are, make our identities completely up, and start all over again if we want to.

No matter what type of person you think you were, no matter what your weight or age, and no matter what results you've gotten in the past you can use the moment that arrives in this second to become better.

Every second you have the opportunity to learn something about yourself, about other people and about life in general that can make the journey interesting and entertaining.

By choosing to learn about yourself, others and life you will inevitably become a better and brighter person.

The person who you want to be in the future can only become so if you choose to be that person now.

Every moment from now until your very last second you have the ability to choose to build a bigger future.

If you choose to do something new in the moment you set yourself up for something new and better in the next moment.

If you choose to do something that you've always done before, you will continue to get the same results you've gotten before.

Albert Einstein said "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result"

Become the new you by deciding today to invite the new you inside your head for a chat.

Then ask the new you the question "Who am I becoming?" and allow your ideal self to imagine what it would be like to triumphantly live your dream lifestyle.

Do you picture yourself as confident, competent and cool. Can you imagine how it feels to be a bold and brave adventurer?

Make it a goal to increase the amount of times you "visit" with the new you, even go as far as to write down the conversations you have with your higher self.

Delegate the new you to make the important choices in your life, decisions like whether or not to go to the gym, smoke a cigarette or invest in some new education.

Remember to celebrate any and all decisions made by the new you, regardless of the outcome.

When it comes time to make an important decision again, allow the new you to choose.

Let the new person with the experience of holding off even just that one cigarette answer the question "Who am I becoming?"

Life is constantly unfolding second-by-second, moment-by-moment and with it you are becoming the person of your choice, so remember to choose wisely.


THE SECRET

Even though your worth is priceless you must still proactively and persistently build yourself to increase your value.

What are you consciously creating that is helping to grow yourself, your valued skills and your service to others?

What are you doing on purpose right now that will cultivate you towards being the person you aspire to be?

Take a moment to ask yourself what you are deliberately doing today that is increasing your value?

One way to accelerate your success is to create an intention for the day, a conscious daily intention.

Choose either an affirmation that inspires and excites you or pick a personal declaration that you feel passionate about fulfilling.

An example of such an affirmation might be: "I am a strong communicator"

An example of a similar declaration could be: "I choose today to become the very best listener in all of my conversations"

Do you already keep a success journal to record all the things you are grateful for, and all the reasons you have to celebrate?

If so, a journal would be a great spot to also record your affirmations and your declarations.

Feel free to refine, evolve and tweak your affirmation and declaration statements until they accurately reflect the power behind your personal intentions.

How will you know when you are reading the "right" affirmation or declaration?

While there is no right or wrong answer, a good indication you are on to something is you feel a surge of energy, a rush of exhilaration, or even a nervous fear of excitement just from reading it.

Your job next is to take that powerful personal statement and read it over and over as many times as possible with the enthusiasm.

Read it first thing in the morning when you wake up. Read it last thing at night before you go to bed.

Try this assignment for at least one whole week and at the end of the week ask yourself "Who am I becoming?"

You have the power to become the person you always dreamed, figure out first who exactly that is and then put in the effort by choosing to be like that person now.

Take today's tip to heart and the total effort required will be less than you imagined and the reward you receive will be beyond your wildest dreams!

A New Earth of Awareness

Have you seen the 1999 Movie the Matrix?

A lot of people have, in case you haven't the movie synopsis is about the realization that people live in fake reality to obscure them from the truth.

Yes I am talking about a movie and not "real life", although many of the parallels and metaphors in the movie are uncanny to real social situations.

We need to see through the Matrix of our own lives in order to create a New Earth. A new paradigm for awareness and consciousness.

There is a movement that is going on right now that started with a highly-awakened teacher of our time Eckhart Tolle and has blow up to affect millions when collided with the juggernaut known as Oprah.

Oprah is featuring Eckhart's New Book, "A New Earth" in her 10-week book club.

Here are some links to this very historic and special online web class:

Find Out About The Book Behind the Buzz
http://eckharttolle.com/a_new_earth

Become An Oprah.com Member and Participate
http://www.oprah.com/mbr/mbr_new_profile.jsp

Check Out a YouTube Video Featuring The Class
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zE_YFiAkgDU

If you are already watching it or listening to the Podcasts (via iTunes or Oprah.com) let me know what you think of the program.

Did You Claim Your Gift Today!

Did you know the special gift everyone has available to them today but only for a limited time?

The Answer Is: A New Day

THE ESSENCE OF A NEW DAY

This is a beginning of a new day. You have been given thisday to use as you will. You can waste it or use it forgood. What you do today is important because you areexchanging a day of your life for it. When tomorrow comes,this day will be gone forever; in its place is somethingthat you have left behind...let it be something good." - Successories Quote

What is so huge, gigantic, top secret, incredible that prevents you from taking a hold of your gift? I challenge you to drop me a line and explore new possibilities.

I want to see you take back your day!

I believe in you. I know there is a new day available to everyone and I'm here to help those who want to wake up to it. Claim your gift today!

Humbled by your greatness,

mailto: successsensei@gmail.com

From "Mentor News"

WHAT WE HAVE IN COMMON: QUALITY CONSCIOUSNESS
Eckhart Tolle

(Editor's note: one of the most frequent requests to Peer Resources is for information on how mentoring, coaching and peer assistance are different from each other. While this is a valid question, our emphasis is more on what these three areas have in common. The following article by Canadian author and spiritual teacher, Eckhart Tolle, adds a unifying perspective for coaching, mentoring, and peer assistance.)

When you are on a journey, it is certainly helpful to know where you are going or, at least, the general direction in which you are moving. But don't forget that the only thing ultimately real about your journey is the step you are taking at this moment. That's all there ever is.

Your life's journey has an outer purpose and an inner purpose. The outer purpose is to arrive at your goal or destination, to accomplish what you set out to do, to achieve this or that, which, of course, implies future. However, if your destination, or the steps you are going to take in the future, take up so much of your attention that they become more important to you than the step you are taking now, you completely miss the journey's inner purpose, which has nothing to do with where you are going or what you are doing, but everything to do with how.

It has nothing to do with future and everything to do with the quality of your consciousness at this moment. The outer purpose belongs to the horizontal dimension of space and time. The inner purpose concerns a deepening of your Being in the vertical dimension of the timeless Now. Your outer journey may contain a million steps. Your inner journey has only one: the step you are taking right now.

As you become more deeply aware of this one step, you realize that it already contains all the other steps, as well as the destination, within itself. This one step becomes transformed in an expression of perfection, an act of great beauty and quality. It takes you into Being and the light of Being shines through it. This is both the purpose and the fulfillment of your inner journey, the journey into yourself.

Does it matter whether or not we achieve our outer purpose, or if we succeed or fail in the world? It will matter to you as long as you haven't realized your inner purpose. After that, the outer purpose is just a game you may continue to play simply because you enjoy it. It is also possible to fail completely in your outer purpose and, at the same time, totally succeed in your inner purpose, or the other way around, which is actually more common: outer riches and inner poverty, or, as Jesus put it, "gain the world and lose your soul."

Ultimately, of course, every outer purpose is doomed to "fail" sooner or later, simply because it is subject to the law of the impermanence of all things. The sooner you realize that your outer purpose cannot give you lasting fulfillment, the better. When you have seen the limitations of your outer purpose, you give up your unrealistic expectation that it should make you happy and you make it subservient to your inner purpose.

There is no need to investigate your unconscious past, except as it manifests at this moment as a thought, an emotion, a desire, a reaction or an external event. Whatever you need to know about the unconscious past within yourself will be revealed by the challenges of the present.

If you delve into the past, it will become a bottomless pit. There is always more. You may think that you need more time to understand the past or to become free of it. This is a delusion. Only the present can free you of the past. More time cannot free you of time. Access the power of Now. That is the key.

What is the power of Now? None other than the power of your presence, your consciousness liberated from thought forms. So deal with the past on the level of the present. The more attention you give to the past, the more you energize it, and the more likely you are to make a "self" out of it.

Don't misunderstand; attention is essential, but not the past as past. You cannot find yourself by going into the past. You find yourself by coming into the present.

(Adapted from The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment)

Cultivate your ability to be consciously in the present more often with help from a Coach like Russell (mail to: success@russellsmall.com)