Looking for Joy

Joy. It’s a tiny word but a great feeling. A feeling that we should have control over.

I see so many people who have no dominion over their feeling states. They have conceded to a system of living based on what is happening in their lives rather than being in control. If things are going well, they feel well, if things are not going well, they do not feel well.

That is a very unhealthy roller coaster method of living.

I know from my own life that we have the power to control our own state of being. There is a way to find joy regardless of the cards being dealt to us and the circumstances we find ourselves in.

You just have to look for it. Are you looking hard enough?

Professional Independence

Although the rate of unemployment continues to rise, Americans with “job security” are still not happy at work.

A recent survey by the Harris Group of North America finds that 76% of gainfully employed Americans do not see opportunities to get ahead and grow, furthermore, 78% say that their employer often fails to retain talent. These are real indicators of an unhappy workforce.

This can be attributed to a general unhappiness with our professional choices and a “grass is greener” perception of the working life. We often assume that people that work in professions other than ours live the good life. But the reality is that other fields of employment are also overgrown with the weeds of dissatisfaction.

I want to empower people to branch out and create their own work environments – to get started with self-employment and become entrepreneurs. I have been self-employed for the past 17 years and now is the best time to get out there and start a business.

It is time to get out from underneath other people’s dreams and aspirations. Stop the treadmill of using your talents to move forward the economic well being of someone else’s business or corporation.

That’s what I have been doing for the past 17 years and I’ve never looked back.

Happy Tuesday!

Aim For The Sky

The summer has been amazing – trips to Hawaii, Orlando and the good old New jersey Shore. All three combined business and pleasure. And as a result of these trips, I have developed a more powerful focus on the contributions I intend to make to society. I have become a founding member of a personal transformation and educational company: The Polaris Media Group.

This organization will be at the forefront of positive change in our society.

I am excited because the media so often reduces the human experience to its negative aspects and being able to provide a media experience that helps people find their voice in a positive manner has immensely invigorated me.

I have been an optimist for a long time. I have always had a belief that anything is possible if we perceive life through a positive lens. My own books and soon to be released audio programs will continue to spread that message.

I now am a member of the Polaris Media Group and the platform has exploded – our line of personal development tools is perfectly in-sync with the message that I have been putting out for years.

I am ready to launch with new power and enthusiasm.

It is imperative at this time in the history of the world to not settle for mediocrity. It is time to step out with a voice that says I AM POWERFUL AND I PLAN TO MAKE A POSITIVE CONTRIBUTION TO MY FELLOW HUMAN BEINGS.

However, that starts with getting your own house in order. We must first quiet the inner voice that limits us. Once that happens, the sky truly becomes the only limit.

Look out world, The Miracles of Optimism are ready to be unleashed in a huge way.

Aim for the sky!

The Life Of Your Dreams

There are more solutions than there are problems.

That’s true for any situation and it is an important fact to remember if you want to live a life with vibrancy.

If you are able to trust that concept, it becomes easy not to drain your energy each and every time a bump in the road occurs. It is important not to tap into frustration, anxiety, anger and other negative feeling states when attempting to seek a resolution to a challenge. Doing so results in you conceding your feeling state to a given situation or circumstance: the outcome of that is a roller-coaster existence that relies on events outside of yourself to feel joy and happiness.

Not fun.

If things are going well, you feel good, if things are not going well, you feel bad. Since a full life includes both things we deem good and things we deem bad, it behooves you to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that there are more solutions than problems so that you are fully supported by the universe.

All you need to do is take the right actions to solve the challenge without depleting your energy. Being optimistic is a byproduct of just knowing that all is well in this great big wonderful world we live in.

I hope you’re having a great week!

Now More Than Ever – Postponed Bliss

This is a tale of two people who took different paths in their lives. One worked his entire life in a career he did not like. In fact during the past 20 years, he stated numerous times that he was working towards retirement. He really wanted to be a teacher but being a lawyer provided him more financial stability. He put up with a daily grind that he had distain for because he was able to sock money away in his 401(k) and just count the hours, days, weeks and years until he could cash in the money earned with blood, sweat and tears.

He would then start to really live his life.

Then the 401(k) went down the tubes with the economic meltdown.

On the other end of the spectrum, I have another friend who has never felt like he worked a day in his life. Every time the field he was passionate about became boring or seemed like a grind he changed careers. He’s an entrepreneur and changed the nature of his small business each time he felt it was time for a new challenge.

He refused to wait until the future to “live his life”, so he lived each day to the fullest. He has always made a decent living and his enterprise still has saying power. He accomplished that without ever sacrificing a day in the present on the altar of the future.

I see so many people bitter over what they have lost. I hear so many of them lamenting the fact that they toiled for years and earned the right to retire. They sacrificed their present and worked toward the benefits of life after work. Unfortunately, things didn’t fall into place as hoped.

Not fair.

Nevertheless, this provides a profound message for those who want to heed it. Do not postpone your bliss because there is no guarantee beyond the present moment.

DO NOT BECOME A LAWYER IF TEACHING IS WHAT YOUR HEART SCREAMS FOR.

Both of these people have about the same amount of money now. Both are in their late to early 50’s and 60’s. One is living a life where the “best laid plans” failed him while the other lives each day like it is his last.

Happy Monday and seize the day my friends!

Emotional Stimulus Package – Part II

Stop paying attention to what you think is the “truth” about the economy. That’s the first step to take in order to notice that the sky is the limit for the life of your dreams.

Stop asking yourself “How am I ever going to realize my dreams with such an economy?” The question “HOW?” has limited humans from realizing their dreams like no other word in the English language. Your very own personal stimulus package resides right inside your soul. Go in and release the energy. Get the energy out into the universe and stimulate your own emotional well being.

Do not limit yourself in any way. You have the power to be and do as you desire. The Buddha said “all that we are is a result of what we have thought.” Nothing just happens to us: there are no coincidences. Everything that has ever happened and will happen has been manifested to us through our thoughts and feelings.

All that’s left for you to do is to be optimistic and let your emotional stimulus package bail you out; trust me, optimism breeds miracles.

Happy Memorial Day to all and a big heartfelt Thank You to our brave troops across the world!

Fear

I see so many people put breaks on their goals because of fear. Some are afraid of failure, while others are afraid of success. Crazy but true.

The ego wants to keep all of us right where we are. It is threatened by change of any kind. For example, if you have played the role of the victim most of your life, meaning you have given away your personal power to negative conditions or circumstances, the last thing your ego wants is for you to succeed. The ego doesn’t want change.

That’s why it is very important to use fear to propel you forward, rather than to paralyze you into inactivity and compliance to the ego’s whims. Overcoming fear by staying committed, persistent and consistent can provide the emotional intensity needed to support you as you move to attain your goals.

Have a great week and fight your fears with optimism!

Goals & Self-Sabotage – Your Inner Voice

When I conduct workshops, participants often ask me to help them set goals. I usually suggest that they write about the things they may be doing that inadvertently prevent their goals from being realized. In other words, what are the internal messages that are impeding their progress?

When I was writing my first book, The Miracle of Optimism, I monitored the inner voice that was speaking to me when I had a case of the proverbial “writers block.” What I discovered was that the block simply was internal sabotage. I was telling myself things like “I do not have time to sit and write a book” or “How will I ever find a publisher?”. Another recurring internal message was “you are stupid, remember most of your teachers told you that!”

I had to get rid of this self-sabotage mechanism.

I started writing affirmations to support my goals. I found this to be a powerful method to release some of the negative thoughts and feeling states. I would write statements that made me feel like a powerful bestselling author: things such as “The Miracle of Optimism is finished, published and sold!”

I wrote an affirming statement for every goal I set and the bookended up becoming a bestseller on Amazon.com. That is a tribute to the power of affirmations in support of a stated goal.

If it worked for me it can surely work for you.

What is your inner voice saying?

Priorities

I just finished helping a teacher/coach client of mine with an incredibly tough task. I had to help him write a eulogy he will deliver tomorrow for one of his players. A player I knew well. We both cried as we talked about the “why’s” of tragedies such as these. An 18 year old killed in a car while driving after having too much to drink; driving too fast and without a seat belt. These last two days have prompted me to reflect on our educational system’s misplaced priorities.

I lament about the possibilities of this young man if the Life Success program that I conducted in his school had not been cut from the budget; he would have been enrolled in that program. Is it more important that we make sure our students “test” well in science and math so we can keep up with the world while not making it a priority to teach the proper life skills? We live in a fast paced society and young people need to be equipped with the proper decision making skills to keep up with the monumental amount of life altering decisions they make on a daily basis.

Today, I cannot help but think that this young man would be alive today if my progressive program for working with young people had not been cut. However, I will not dwell on it because it would be a waste of time and energy.

I am optimistic that teaching Life Success will be a priority in schools all across the nation in the near future. I intend to be a catalyst for that occurring. As I finish writing this tonight and head out to the wake to say goodbye to this young man I am sad. Tomorrow I will be more determined than ever to initiate change.

Emotional Stimulus Package

Managing your emotional economy is a vital component to living a vibrant life during these tough times. In order to do so, you need to put aside your 401K and mortgage worries, and know that we live in an abundant universe. The key is to believe; optimism is your emotional stimulus package.

Worrying, being afraid and anxious are the attitudes that block abundance and excellence. Managing your emotional economy means that you understand the inherent value that an optimistic outlook has on your life. It means that you are aware that optimism is a powerful state of being to exist in if you want to remain full of energy and vibrancy.

Maintaining a positive perspective at all times is a breeding ground for great things to happen. Negative emotional states are equivalent to having weeds in a garden; they make it difficult to render beautiful fruit, or abundance.

Think about it, we know that negativity breeds negativity. This is why optimism is your emotional stimulus package and unlike the economic one, you don’t need anyone’s approval to pass it: All you need to do is believe.

We have to believe folks. Happy Monday!