Brian Tracy has sent me some great material since I started following him on Twitter.  Ah, the power of social media.

The most important take-aways from his wealth of tips and advice is about time.  We really can’t save time.  We can reallocate  time but we are always spending it.

Making an ABCDE list was a great idea of his:

A:  You have to do this.  Take a bite out of the toughest project but still do something.

B:  Pick something you need to do but does not have huge consequences if you don’t.

C: Do something that gives you pleasure and has no negative consequences.

D: Deligate.  Do more important things,  assign the rest to others.

E: Eliminate things according to the KWINK process: “Knowing what I now know”,  would I still do this?

His most important piece of advice:

Check your email twice a day, 11am and 3pm.

Thanks Brian!

In the satirical novel  Candide,  Voltaire made fun of optimism.

“It is demonstrable,” said he, “that things cannot be otherwise than they are; for as all things have been created for some end, they must necessarily be created for the best end. Observe, for instance, the nose is formed for spectacles; therefore we wear spectacles. The legs are visibly designed for stockings; accordingly we wear stockings. Stones were made to be hewn and to construct castles; therefore my lord has a magnificent castle; for the greatest baron in the province ought to be the best lodged. Swine were intended to be eaten; therefore we eat pork all year round. And they who assert that everything is right, do not express themselves correctly; they should say that everything is best.”

How often do you hide your optimism because you are afraid of being laughed at or ridiculed.  I believe that each one of us has created an armor around us to protect ourselves from the hurtful, negative comments others express about positive thinking.

When is our positivism real?  Confidence comes from within ourselves.  We are the only ones that know what our purpose and possibilities are.  Dig deep!  Allow yourself to be inspired!

from The Magic of Thinking Big

The challenge we face is to identify belief about what we can do through a strong connection with our Higher Self and not through the dreams of the ego.  The solution will come to us through the  Divinely inspired imagination of our sub-conscious.

Guilt is about past actions and events. Panic is about future events. The future is unknown. It takes a great level of imagination and energy to create panic.

Return to the present, breathe, relax.

One of my favorite movies is Pay it Forward.  The conept of each person giving in advance of their own need is a powerful message.  The idea that doing something good for someone else will make you feel good is one thing.  The idea that doing something good for others actually protects you from the harmful effects of stress and negative emotion is enlightening!

Can I lower my cholesterol,  blood pressure and weight by doing more good things for others?  Can I extend my life and improve the overall quality of my years by giving my time generously?

The answer is yes.  Giving does not need to cost.  Maybe it will be the best investment you ever make!

Well Being – The Five Essential Elements, is a great book that also contains an assessment to help you understand how balanced your life is and how to work on balancing different aspects of your life for long-term happiness.

If I am the biggest threat to my personal wellbeing,  I better get out of the way!

How am I creating my own unhappiness.  First off,  it has to be some unwanted,  long-term habits.  Ok,  it’s obvious which ones those are.  The real question is how to change.  Maybe trying to blame someone else is the first step.  Next, I can take responsibility for my own happiness create the life I want based on Divine “nudges”.

What would it take to identify at least one new thought about your life that has been coming to you through conversations, experiences and “out of the blue” events?  Write it down and post it somewhere that you can see before you go to bed at night and first thing when you wake in the morning.  Tell me what happens – I would love to hear about it!

This quote is from The Paradoxical Commandments by Kent M. Keith.  I like to call them the Anyway Commandments.  They are ideas to live by that defy the win-lose or even the win-win logic that we believe is a natural law.  The Laws of Truth are very different.  Many of them seem upside-down, illogical or  like pie-in-the-sky thinking.    They cannot be applied because they are laws of the universe.  It would be like going outside today and saying,

Today,  I will consciously apply the law of gravity to my life!

Discovering and experiencing these laws of Truth is a part of personal growth.  How will you grow on the inside today…….anyway?

The question of knowing where you are is easy to answer in terms of physical address, phone number, website, etc.  The most difficult questions to answer are:

Do you know where you are in terms of:

• Availability:  Do you have space in your life for more business, a new connection or more activities?
• Engagement:  Are you able to be present and recognize the opportunity when it “knocks”?
• Intention:  Are you focused on your purpose and passion in a way that will attract opportunities that are a good match?

What one thing can you do today to clarify  your inner and outer “location”?