a special day

Our lives are full of special days -- holidays, birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, days of celebration, days of remembrance, fellowship, and leisure. We treasure those special days when we take time to celebrate and enjoy life, when we get together with loved ones, when we give a little more of ourselves and find special pleasure in the simple joy of being alive.

And the most special day of all is... today! Because today is where we live. Today is full of possibility, ready and waiting to be filled with life and love. Today brings the opportunities and challenges which give meaning to life. In every moment of today, there is treasure.

Every day is special because we make it special. No matter what the calendar says, each and every day is full of opportunities for life, for love, for making dreams come true. The weeks, the months and the years come and go. Along the way we collect fond memories of the past and build hope for the future. Yet today is when we do our living, when we create the memories and fulfill the hopes.

Life is full of special days -- one right after the other. All the special days in the past have brought us here today. And all the special days to come, begin to take shape right now. Today is indeed a special day, a sacred gift that is ours to fulfill

Do as told

you ve made it

You can handle whatever life gives you. You did it yesterday, and the day before. You've done it all your life, and it has brought you to where you are today. Somehow, in some way, you have successfully made your way through every challenge, to arrive at this point in life, right here, right now.

Every day for as long as you can remember you've faced challenges, you've solved problems, and you have worked your way through the obstacles that blocked your path. You have proved to yourself and to the world that you are resourceful, that you are effective, that you can propel yourself to where you want to be.

Nothing yet has stopped you. You proven that you can handle the challenges. Don't stop now. Have the courage to go for what you truly want. Sure, the task looks daunting. Sure, there are hurdles to be overcome. Yet that's what you're so good at doing. You've made it here, and you can make it anywhere you want to go.

It's up to you

In every situation you can find people who are bitter and others who are cheerful. The difference is not in the circumstance, but rather in how each person reacts to it.

The bitter people are those who blame their troubles on circumstance. The cheerful ones are those who continually put forth an effort to make the best of any situation.

Though you can rarely control what happens in the world, you can determine how it happens to you. It doesn't matter whose "fault" it is, or whose "job" it is, when you hold yourself accountable for it, then you are making it happen for you rather than letting it happen to you. And as a bonus, you free yourself from the wasted energy of resentment, despair and anger.

Whether you're searching for ways to blame or for ways to make a positive difference, you'll find what you're looking for. The more accountable you make yourself for life, the more it will work in your favor.

not always

Things are not always what they seem. Those with the most power are often the ones who exercise it the least. The smartest people are the ones who often say "I don't know." Many times, it is more loving to be firm than to give in. The best potential customer can sometimes be the one who at first appears the least impressive.

Because life is not always what it seems, we must learn to think, consider and act, rather than simply react. When you react in a predictable fashion, it permits others to easily control you. To control your own life, you must think for yourself and look beyond the obvious.

Every day is full of new possibilities, and every situation is different. What was true in the past, may no longer be. What seems to be obvious, may not be at all as it first appears.

Take the time, make the effort to see what is really there. You'll find opportunities that no one else has discovered.

Do as told!

Let yourself

Go ahead. Let yourself enjoy the beautiful world around you. Stop fighting life and start flowing with it. Let yourself be full of strength and energy. Let yourself be creative. Let yourself enjoy the moments as they come. It will happen if you let it.

Your own fears and doubts hold you back more than anything else. Your own anger keeps you imprisoned. Your own limiting thoughts conceal an abundance of possibilities. Your worries drain the joy from each moment. Let go of them.

Is that irresponsible? No. The most responsible thing you can do is to live up to your incredible potential. Yes, there are plenty of very real problems in the world. But you don't have to give them any more power than they already have. Let yourself be joyful in spite of them, and your life will be a positive force. Let yourself really live.

weakness or strength?

Why not admit that we have a weakness? I always ask myself why should I not have a right to be weak. But while I am telling me about not always being strong, I preach that my weaknesses do not have to make me weak. We're all different, with unique perspectives and abilities. Weakness in one area is a good sign of strength somewhere else. That is what the game is all about.

Someone who is "lazy", and unwilling to put forth any more effort than is absolutely necessary, could be very skilled at determining the most efficient way to get things done. Someone who is shy and afraid to speak up, could be a very effective and observant listener. Someone who has difficulty with remembering details, could be extremely skilled at seeing the big picture.

You've managed to get this far along in life, in spite of your weaknesses, whatever they may be. Consider the strengths you've developed to compensate for them. When you think about it that way, you see that your weaknesses have actually been a catalyst for personal growth.

That's not to say that you should sit back and accept your weaknesses. Areas of weakness offer the greatest potential for overall improvement in your performance. If you put all your effort into improving the areas where you're already strong, you'll only make incremental improvements. However, when you work to overcome your most limiting weaknesses, the results can be dramatic.

Yes, you have weaknesses. We all do. Yet even those weak areas offer the opportunity to find new strength.

why would you?

Why would you ever choose to be unhappy? Why would you ever neglect to do the things that bring fulfillment and joy to your life? Why would you ever want to hold yourself back from your own possibilities?

Perhaps because it is "easier" to just coast along, not really ever making a difference, not ever striving for what you know you could accomplish. But is it really easier? Is a life of comfort and mediocrity any less painful than a life of effort and accomplishment?

The pain of effort, no matter how intense, is temporary. It is more than compensated for by the achievement which the effort produces. The alternate pain of regret however, is permanent. After all, if you could make it go away, it would not be regret.

Do you think that empty pleasure will ever make you happy? Can you see yourself as ever knowing fulfillment, if you have not made the effort to create a life of value?

This moment, this day, this life is your golden opportunity to fulfill the magnificent possibility of you.

Persistent or stubborn?

Sometimes in an attempt to be persistent, we become stubborn. That's a mistake, because there's a big difference between the two. Persistence is the ability to keep your eye on the goal, to continue plowing ahead despite the challenges, to doggedly work your way past any obstacle. Yet persistence also demands flexibility. Stubbornness, on the other hand, is a refusal to accept reality and an unwillingness to adapt to changing conditions.

To reach any goal requires that we be unyielding about where we intend to go, while at the same time flexible about how to get there. Unfortunately, many times we get it backwards -- we persistently do the same thing every day, out of a sense of habit or comfort or lack of knowing what else to do, even if it is not taking us in the direction we want to go.

Few things ever come to pass in exactly the way that we plan them. The ability to adapt is very much a part of relentless persistence. When you're persistent about what you intend to accomplish, and flexible as to how it will happen, anything is possible.

Do as told!