The relentless pursuit of perfection is a great slogan for Lexus, but in reality it is the cause of stagnation for many people. See how pursuing excellence is the better choice in getting you mobilized and actualizing your dreams.

We often get stuck in the “why’s” of life.  Change your question and experience real answers that bring healing and wholeness.

Is your gratitude common?  Do you unconsciously offer praise when you are up and struggle to do so when you are down?  Check out this weeks Vlog to and learn how to find the face of God in every situation!

James King, a modern-day Good Samaritan, used his faith and active obedience to do what scores of trained rescue divers, helicopter pilots, and police officers couldn’t do. The benefactor of his courageous actions, 11-year old Nadia Bloom, had been missing for four and a half days from her Florida home after wandering off into nearby dense swampland. After having searched along with other volunteers for three days with no success, King, who, incidentally had at one time attended the same church as Nadia and her family, was very concerned about the little girl’s chances of survival. According to him, it was his wife who inspired him when she said, “James, when we lose something, we pray in the spirit and we always find it.” Moved with compassion, he promptly enlisted God’s wisdom through prayer and headed back out to the swampland alone at sunrise the next day. He packed his cell phone, chocolate milk, and other needed supplies, including toilet paper for marking his trail, fully expecting for God to lead him to Nadia. Two hours later, his careful obedience to God’s instructions led him straight to Nadia, who, amazingly, was sitting on a log, barefooted and bug-bitten, but otherwise remarkably intact and in good spirits.

While this story is not the first in remarkable rescues, it is, however, most notable for the way in which she was found. In an interview last week with CNN, Mr. King stated, “I didn’t know where she was. The only person who knew where she was was God, and I asked Him and he led me directly to her…”

One word – AWESOME!

What miracle might you have the opportunity to take part in if you only  trust and obey God? Seek Him and act on what He tells you to do. You’ll be glad you did!

I was recently re-inspired to tap into a practice that I’ve been a fan of for quite some time: making a vision board. This self-made collage of personalized photos, quotes, and plans is nothing new. Many people use them to energize their dreams and reach their goals. Here’s a reproduction of an article on vision boards by my good friend, Rita Emmett.  Be inspired and picture yourself Getting Good at Life!

Message from Rita Emmett (Used by Permission)
A friend recently told me that his goal has been to get a car better than his old beat-up clunker that needs new brakes. Last week, his brother gave him a car FOR FREE. It is one year newer than the clunker, has working brakes, but looks like a rust-bucket.
Instead of feeling happy, my friend is cranky. I asked him what kind of car was his goal? He said, “Anything but this one.”

When your goal is “anything” that’s what you get.

In two books I’m reading, they both touched on that exact same subject on the same day. (What?? You read only ONE book at a time?? Isn’t that boring? Wait-a-minute — hmmmm, maybe I DO have an attention problem) Anyway, they both wrote how important it is to be specific in our goals. What kind of car? What kind of new job & where? What are the qualities you want in a friend, spouse, new organization or place of worship? Give details.

Then, to truly crystallize that goal, both books suggested vision boards or scrap books with pictures showing that specific thing or lifestyle you want. Mike Dooley writes: “The power of a scrapbook lies in the fact that it’s filled with images of the END RESULTS you wish to possess or experience, completely side-stepping the HOWS.” Then you do something to work towards those end results.

You have to know that “side-stepping the HOWS” is not easy for me — the author of “how-to books” even though I’ve been working at it for years. However, the vision board helps me do that. On mine, I put a world map (love to travel) then lots of pictures and quotes such as Napoleon Hill’s “What the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”

About two years ago, I read a fabulous story about the pyramids and have always wanted to see them and so I put up a pyramid picture. And deliberately told myself to stop dwelling on HOW I would get there. Then I continued giving talks and writing.  Exactly one year ago, Bruce and I cruised the Mediterranean for FREE because I was speaking on a cruise ship. They offered us this dream-come-true cruise without us even asking for it. Our trip included Spain, Italy, Greece and….(you guessed it) Egypt.. (For the gazillion of you who also want to do this, you will find tons of help to speak on cruise ships at http://www.speakerscruisefree.com/now )

When you make a vision board or “goal scrap book”, you don’t give “orders” of how it should come about, you don’t have to figure out the “how”. You find pictures and quotes that simply focus on the end result.
Not — “a car”, but the exact color, make & model you want. Not “a better job” but a picture of where you want to be and what you want to be doing.
Not — “make a certain person love or be kind” to you, instead focus on how you want to be and feel (peaceful? cherished? secure? happy? desirable?) and find a photo that looks like a picture you want to be in.

For a vision board, you need either poster board or something large (Mine is on the back of my office door). For a scrapbook, you can use a spiral notebook. Include photos, quotes, whatever has meaning. It sounds simplistic or childish, but it forces you to be specific in your goals, and then helps you visualize the end result — that is, YOU achieving those goals.
AND you might even have fun putting it together. With all those advantages, why would you not try it? Today? Yes!

Rita Emmett
Author of The Procrastinator’s Handbook,
The Clutter-Busting Handbook and
Manage Your Time to Reduce Your Stress: A Handbook for the Overworked, Overscheduled, and Overwhelmed
www.ritaemmett.com
REmmett412@aol.com
2331 Eastview
Des Plaines, IL 60018
847-699-9950

Have a laugh….and then drink plenty of water!