Inspirational Quotes, Inspirational Poems, Inspirational Greetings

7 Steps for Creating the Life YOU Want by Jack Canfield

Peter — Thu, 02 May 2013 06:11:35 +0000

We all aspire to do, be and have great things. Yet most of us simply aren’t creating the results we want. We complain that we don’t have enough money, romance, success or joy in our lives.

We point fingers and blame outside problems that “happen” to us and make life more difficult. But what we need to understand and keep at the forefront of our minds is that greatness exists in all of us. It is simply up to us to pull it out of ourselves. Regardless of personal circumstances, economic climates, and access to resources, it helps to maintain faith in the fact we each are more powerful than we think.

We all have the ability to create the life we want. We just need to learn how to do it. Is there an exact “formula”? No, but there are certain common features that successful people exhibit and that anyone can practice. They are what can jumpstart your success and attract what you want in life. You’d be hard pressed to find any high achiever who doesn’t live by the following 7 tips:

1. Take No Less than 100% Responsibility for Your Life
One of the greatest myths that is pervasive in our culture today is that you are entitled to a great life and that somehow, somewhere, someone is responsible for filling our lives with continual happiness, exciting career options, nurturing family time and blissful personal relationships simply because we exist. But the real truth is that there is only one person responsible for the quality of the life you live. That person is you.

Everything about you is a result of your doing or not doing. Income. Debt. Relationships. Health. Fitness level. Attitudes and behaviors. That person who reflects back at you in the mirror is the chief conductor in your life. Say hello!

I think everyone knows this in their hearts, but the mind can play games, tricking plenty of people into thinking external factors are the source of failure, disappointment, and unhappiness. But the truth of the matter is that external factors don’t determine how you live. You are in complete control of the quality of your life.

Successful people take full responsibility for the thoughts they think, the images they visualize, and the actions they take. They don’t waste their time and energy blaming and complaining. They evaluate their experiences and decide if they need to change them or not. They face the uncomfortable and take risks in order to create the life they want to live.

2. Be Clear Why You’re Here
I believe each of us is born with a life purpose. Identifying, acknowledging and honoring this purpose is perhaps the most important action successful people take. They take the time to understand what they’re here to do, and then they pursue that with passion and enthusiasm.

If you don’t know what you’re supposed to be doing, then just tune in to the signals around you. Looking toward others for help and guidance is helpful, but don’t forget to stay tuned in to yourself—your behavior, attitude, likes and dislikes, and life experiences. Identify what’s working and what isn’t. If you need to, write it all down. You might be surprised by what you discover.

3. Decide What You Want
It sounds so simple, but here’s the problem: I see plenty of people who are overly-busy yet who feel unsatisfied and unfulfilled. They are physically tired, spiritually drained, and far from where they’d like to be—as if they’ve been running on a treadmill going nowhere fast. Why? Because they haven’t clearly mapped out what they want and then taken the steps to get there. Rather than identifying specific goals, milestones, and dreams (and I’m talking BIG dreams and goals here), they go through the motions day in and day out tackling unimportant tasks. They end up…you guessed it…going in circles and wasting lots of energy. In the meanwhile, they grow increasingly uninspired and out of touch with their authentic selves. This, of course, sets anyone up to living a life out of balance.

One of the main reasons why most people don’t get what they want is they haven’t decided what they want. They haven’t defined their desires in clear and compelling detail. What does success look like to you? Not everybody’s definition of success is the same, nor should it be.

Don’t let your inner devil’s advocate (or that incessant but unimportant To Do list) inhibit you from dreaming big. As soon as you commit to a big dream and really go after it, your subconscious creative mind will come up with big ideas to make it happen. You’ll start attracting the people, resources, and opportunities you need into your life to make your dream come true. Big dreams not only inspire you, but they also compel others to want to play big, too.

4. Believe It Is Possible
Scientists used to believe that humans responded to information flowing into the brain from the outside world. But today, they’re learning that instead we respond to what the brain, based on previous experience, expects to happen next. In fact, the mind is such a powerful instrument; it can deliver literally everything you want. But you have to believe that what you want is possible.

As you commit to believing in yourself, also make a commitment to toning down the complaint department. Look at what you are complaining about. I’m fat. I’m tired. I can’t get out of debt. I won’t ever get a better job. I can’t stand the relationship I have with my father. I’ll never find a soulmate in life. Really examine your complaints. More than likely you can do something about them. They are not about other people, other things, or other events. They are about YOU.

5. Believe in Yourself
If you are going to be successful in creating the life of your dreams, you have to believe that you are capable of making it happen. Whether you call it self-esteem, self-confidence or self-assurance, it is a deep-seated belief that you have what it takes; the abilities, inner resources, talents and skills to create your desired results.

Have unwavering faith in yourself, for good and bad. Make the decision to believe that you create all your experiences. You will experience successes thanks to you, and you will experience pain, struggle, and strife thanks to you. Sounds a little strange, but accepting this level of responsibility is uniquely empowering. It means you can do, change, and be anything. Stumbling blocks become just that—little hills to hop over.

6. Become an Inverse Paranoid
This one is straightforward: Imagine how much easier it would be to succeed in life if you were constantly expecting the world to support you and bring you opportunity. Successful people do just that.

7. Unleash the Power of Goal Setting
Experts on the science of success know the brain is a goal-seeking organism. Whatever goal you give to your subconscious mind, it will work day and night to achieve. To engage you subconscious mind, a goal has to be measurable. When there aren’t any criteria for measurement, it is simply something you want, a wish, a preference, or a good idea.

Sometimes we need to make just one initial goal to get started, and that’s okay. At least it comes with a few actions to achieve. A first step simply can be making an immediate change in a single area in your life. Are you unhappy about something that is happening right now? Make requests that will make it more desirable to you, or take the steps to change it yourself. Making a change might be uncomfortable and overwhelming for you. It might mean you have to put in more time, money, and effort. It might mean that someone gets upset about it, or makes you feel bad about your decision. It might be difficult to change or leave a situation, but staying put is your choice so why continue to complain? You can either do something about it or not. It is your choice and you have responsibility for your choices.

Bear in mind that you have to be willing to change your behavior if you want a different outcome. You have to be willing to take the risks necessary to get what you want. If you’ve already taken an initial step in the right direction, now’s the time to plan more steps to keep moving you forward faster.

Isn’t it a great relief to know that you can make your life what you want it to be? Isn’t it wonderful that your successes do not depend on someone else?

So if you need just one thing to do different today than you did yesterday, make it this: Commit to taking 100% responsibility for every aspect of your life. Decide to make changes, one step at a time. Once you start the process you’ll discover it is much easier to get what you want by taking control of your thoughts, your visualizations, and your actions!

Written by: Jack Canfield

Jack Canfield, America’s #1 Success Coach, is founder of the billion-dollar book brand Chicken Soup for the Soul® and a leading authority on Peak Performance and Life Success. If you’re ready to jump-start your life, make more money, and have more fun and joy in all that you do, get FREE success tips from Jack Canfield now at: www.FreeSuccessStrategies.com

Music by: Unknown Composer

Don’t Hope… Decide!

Peter — Wed, 01 May 2013 06:02:38 +0000

While waiting to pick up a friend at the airport in Portland, Oregon, I had one of those life-changing experiences that you hear other people talk about -the kind that sneaks up on you unexpectedly. This one occurred a mere two feet away from me. Straining to locate my friend among the passengers deplaning through the jetway, I noticed a man coming toward me carrying two light bags.

He stopped right next to me to greet his family. First he motioned to his youngest son (maybe six years old) as he laid down his bags. They gave each other a long, loving hug. As they separated enough to look in each other’s face, I heard the father say, “It’s so good to see you, son. I missed you so much!” His son smiled somewhat shyly, averted his eyes and replied softly, “Me, too, Dad!”

Then the man stood up, gazed in the eyes of his oldest son (maybe nine or ten) and while cupping his son’s face in his hands said, “You’re already quite the young man. I love you very much, Zach!” They too hugged a most loving, tender hug.

While this was happening, a baby girl (perhaps one or one-and-a-half) was squirming excitedly in her mother’s arms, never once taking her little eyes off the wonderful sight of her returning father.

The man said, “Hi, baby girl!” as he gently took the child from her mother. He quickly kissed her face all over and then held her close to his chest while rocking her from side to side. The little girl instantly relaxed and simply laid her head on his shoulder, motionless in pure contentment.

After several moments, he handed his daughter to his oldest son and declared, “I’ve saved the best for last!” and proceeded to give his wife the longest, most passionate kiss I ever remember seeing.

He gazed into her eyes for several seconds and then silently mouthed. “I love you so much!” They stared at each other’s eyes, beaming big smiles at one another, while holding both hands. For an instant they reminded me of newlyweds, but I knew by the age of their kids that they couldn’t possibly be.

I puzzled about it for a moment then realized how totally engrossed I was in the wonderful display of unconditional love not more than an arm’s length away from me.

I suddenly felt uncomfortable, as if I was invading something sacred, but was amazed to hear my own voice nervously ask, “Wow! How long have you two been married?” “Been together fourteen years total, married twelve of those.” he replied, without breaking his gaze from his lovely wife’s face. “Well then, how long have you been away?” I asked the man finally turned and looked at me, still beaming his joyous smile.”Two whole days!”

Two days? I was stunned. By the intensity of the greeting, I had assumed he’d been gone for at least several weeks – if not months. I know my expression betrayed me, I said almost offhandedly, hoping to end my intrusion with some semblance of grace (and to get back to searching for my friend), “I hope my marriage is still that passionate after twelve years!”

The man suddenly stopped smiling. He looked me straight in the eye, and with forcefulness that burned right into my soul, he told me something that left me a different person. He told me, “Don’t hope, friend… decide!” Then he flashed me his wonderful smile again, shook my hand and said, “God bless!” With that, he and his family turned and strode away together.

I was still watching that exceptional man and his special family walk just out of sight when my friend came up to me and asked, “What’cha looking at?” Without hesitating, and with a curious sense of certainty, I replied, “My future!”

Submitted by: Janet

Music by: Unknown Composer

Simple Quotes that Move the Heart

Peter — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 12:22:09 +0000

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Inspirational Video by: ComingAgain777 at Youtube.com

Take Note of The Little Things Around You

Peter — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 06:19:52 +0000

I had a very special teacher in high school many years ago whose husband unexpectedly died of a heart attack. About a week later his death, she shared some of her insights with us.

As the late afternoon sunlight came streaming in through the classroom windows and the class was nearly over, she moved a few things aside on the edge of her desk and sat down there. With a gentle look of reflection on her face, she paused and said, “Before class is over, I would like to share with all of you a thought that is unrelated to class, but which I feel is very important.”

“Each of us is put here on earth to learn, share, love, appreciate and give of ourselves. None of us knows when this fantastic experience will end. It can be taken away at any moment. Perhaps this is a way of telling us that we must make the most out of every single day.”

Her eyes beginning to water, she went on, “So I would like you all to make me a promise. From now on, on your way to school, or on your way home, find something beautiful to notice. It doesn’t have to be something you see, it could be a scent – perhaps of freshly baked bread wafting out of someone’s house, or it could be the sound of the breeze slightly rustling the leaves in the trees, or the way the morning light catches the autumn leaf as it falls gently to the ground.

Please look for these things, and cherish them. For, although it may sound trite to some, these things are the “stuff” of life. The little things we are put here on earth to enjoy. The things we often take for granted. We must make it important to notice them, for at any time…it can all be taken away.” The class was completely quiet. We all picked up our books and filed out of the room silently.

That afternoon, I noticed more things on my way home from school than had that whole semester. Every once in a while, I think of that teacher and remember what an impression she made on all of us, and I try to appreciate all of those things that sometimes we all overlook.

Submitted by: Julie

Music: ‘Hope’ © Margi Harrell

20 Tips for a good confession

Peter — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 18:14:45 +0000

Here are 20 tips for a good Confession:

1) Examine our consciences regularly and thoroughly;
2) Wait our turn in line patiently;
3) Come at the time confessions are scheduled, not a few minutes before they are to end;
4) Speak distinctly but never so loudly that we might be overheard;
5) State our sins clearly and briefly without rambling;
6) Confess all mortal sins in number and kind;
7) Listen carefully to the advice the priest gives;
8) Confess our own sins and not someone else’s;
9) Carefully listen to and remember the penance and be sure to understand it;
10) Use a regular formula for confession so that it is familiar and comfortable;
11) Never be afraid to say something “embarrassing”… just say it;
12) Never worry that the priest thinks we are jerks…. he is usually impressed by our courage;
13) Never fear that the priest will not keep our confession secret… he is bound by the Seal;
14) Never confess “tendencies” or “struggles”… just sins;
15) Never leave the confessional before the priest has finished giving absolution;
16) Memorize an Act of Contrition;
17) Answer the priest’s questions briefly if he asks for a clarification;
18) Ask questions if we can’t understand what he means when he tells us something;
19) Keep in mind that sometimes priests can have bad days just like we do;
20) Remember that priests must go to confession too … they know what we are going through.

Written by: Author Unknown

Music: ‘solitude’ © Margi Harrell

The Coal Basket

Peter — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 18:06:27 +0000

The story is told of an old man who lived on a farm in the mountains
of eastern Kentucky with his young grandson.

Each morning, Grandpa was up early sitting at the kitchen table
reading from his old worn-out Bible.
His grandson who wanted to be just like him tried to imitate him in any way he could.

One day the grandson asked,
“Papa, I try to read the Bible just like you but I don’t understand it,
and what I do understand I forget as soon as I close the book.

What good does reading the Bible do?”
The Grandfather quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and said,
“Take this coal basket down to the river and bring back a basket of water.”

The boy did as he was told, even though all the water leaked out
before he could get back to the house.

The grandfather laughed and said, “You will have to move a little faster next time,”
and sent him back to the river with the basket to try again.

This time the boy ran faster, but again the basket was empty before he returned home.
Out of breath, he told his grandfather that it was “impossible to carry water in a basket,”
and he went to get a bucket instead. The old man said, “I don’t want a bucket of water.
I want a basket of water. You can do this. You’re just not trying hard enough,”
and he went out the door to watch the boy try again.

At this point, the boy knew it was impossible,
but he wanted to show his grandfather that even if he ran as fast as he could,
the water would leak out before he got far at all.
The boy scooped the water and ran hard,
but when he reached his grandfather the basket was again empty.

Out of breath, he said, “See Papa, it’s useless!”

The old man said, “So you think it is useless?
Look at the basket.”

The boy looked at the basket
and for the first time he realized that the basket looked different.
Instead of a dirty old coal basket, it was clean.

“Son, that’s what happens when you read the Bible.
You might not understand or remember everything,
but when you read it, it will change you from the inside out.”

That is the work of God in our lives . . .
to change us from the inside out
and to slowly transform us into the image of His Son.

Submitted by: Laura

Music by: Unknown Composer

My Mom Only Has One Eye

Peter — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 13:01:53 +0000

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My mom only had one eye. I hated her… She was such an embarrassment. She cooked for students and teachers to support the family.

There was this one day during elementary school where my mom came to say hello to me. I was so embarrassed.

How could she do this to me? I ignored her, threw her a hateful look and ran out. The next day at school one of my classmates said, “EEEE, your mom only has one eye!”

I wanted to bury myself. I also wanted my mom to just disappear. I confronted her that day and said, “If you’re only gonna make me a laughing stock, why don’t you just die?”

My mom did not respond… I didn’t even stop to think for a second about what I had said, because I was full of anger. I was oblivious to her feelings.

I wanted out of that house, and have nothing to do with her. So I studied real hard, got a chance to go abroad to study.

Then, I got married. I bought a house of my own. I had kids of my own. I was happy with my life, my kids and the comforts. Then one day, my Mother came to visit me. She hadn’t seen me in years and she didn’t even meet her grandchildren.

When she stood by the door, my children laughed at her, and I yelled at her for coming over uninvited. I screamed at her, “How dare you come to my house and scare my children! GET OUT OF HERE! NOW!!!”

And to this, my mother quietly answered, “Oh, I’m so sorry. I may have gotten the wrong address.” – and she disappeared out of sight.

One day, a letter regarding a school reunion came to my house. So I lied to my wife that I was going on a business trip. After the reunion, I went to the old shack just out of curiosity.

My neighbors said that she died. I did not shed a single tear. They handed me a letter that she had wanted me to have.

“My dearest son,

I think of you all the time. I’m sorry that I came to your house and scared your children.

I was so glad when I heard you were coming for the reunion. But I may not be able to even get out of bed to see you. I’m sorry that I was a constant embarrassment to you when you were growing up.

You see……..when you were very little, you got into an accident, and lost your eye. As a mother, I couldn’t stand watching you having to grow up with one eye. So I gave you mine.

I was so proud of my son who was seeing a whole new world for me, in my place, with that eye.

With all my love to you,

Your mother.”

Submitted by: Lauren

Music: ‘Longing For You’ © Yuko Ohigashi

Her Arm’s

Peter — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 12:54:46 +0000

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Bob Butler lost his legs in a 1965 land mine explosion in Vietnam. He returned home a war hero. Twenty years later, he proved once again that heroism comes from the heart.

Butler was working in his garage in a small town in Arizona, USA on a hot summer day; when he heard a woman’s screams coming from a nearby house. He began rolling his wheelchair toward the house but the dense shrubbery wouldn’t allow him access to the back door. So he got out of his chair and started to crawl through the dirt and bushes.

“I had to get there”, he says. “It didn’t matter how much it hurt”. When Butler arrived at the pool there was a three-year-old girl named Stephanie Hanes lying at the bottom. She had been born without arms and had fallen in the water and couldn’t swim. Her mother stood over her baby screaming frantically. Butler dove to the bottom of the pool and brought little Stephanie up to the deck. Her face was blue, she had no pulse and was not breathing.

Butler immediately went to work performing CPR to revive her while Stephanie’s mother telephoned the fire department. She was told the paramedics were already out on a call. Helplessly, she sobbed and hugged Butler’s shoulder.

As Butler continued with his CPR, he calmly reassured her. Don’t worry, he said. “I was her arms to get out of the pool. It’ll be okay. I am now her lungs. Together we can make it”.

Seconds later the little girl coughed, regained consciousness, and began to cry. As they hugged and rejoiced together the mother asked Butler how he knew it would be okay. The truth is, “I didn’t know”, he told her. “But when my legs were blown off in the war, I was all alone in a field. No one was there to help except a little Vietnamese girl. As she struggled to drag me into her village, she whispered in broken English, ‘It okay. You can live. I be your legs. Together we make it’ “. Her kind words brought hope to my soul and I wanted to do the same for Stephanie.

There are simply those times when we cannot stand alone. There are those times when we need someone to be our legs, our arms, our friend.

Submitted by: Laura

Always Look On The Inside

Peter — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 05:10:08 +0000

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I remember reading a story once about a man
who was exploring some caves by the seashore.
In one of the caves he found a canvas bag with
a bunch of hardened clay balls. It was like
someone had rolled up some clay and left them
out in the sun to bake. They didn’t look like
much, but they intrigued the man so he took the
bag out of the cave with him.As he strolled
along the beach, to pass the time, he would throw
the clay balls one at a time out into the ocean as
far as he could throw. He thought little about it
until he dropped one of the balls and it cracked
open on a rock. Inside was a beautiful, precious
stone. Excited, the man started breaking open the
remaining clay balls. Each contained a similar
treasure. He found thousands of dollars worth of
jewels in the 20 or so clay balls he had left,
then it struck him. He had been on the beach a
long time. He had thrown maybe 50 or 60 of the
clay balls with their hidden treasure into the
ocean waves. Instead of thousands of dollars in
treasure, he could have had tens of thousands, but
he just threw it all away.

You know sometimes, it’s like that with people. We
look at someone, maybe even ourselves, and we see
the external clay vessel. It doesn’t look like much
from the outside. It isn’t always beautiful or
sparkling, so we discount it; we see that person as
less important than someone more beautiful or
stylish or well known or wealthy.

But we have not taken the time to find the treasure
hidden inside that person by God. There is a treasure
hidden in every one of us. The Bible says we are
fearfully and wonderfully made. I don’t think he
means just our physical bodies. I think he means
our spiritual selves, which are sometimes hidden
from others by the *earthen vessel*

But if you take the time to get to know that person,
and if you ask the Father to show you that person
the way He sees them, then the clay begins to peel
away and the brilliant gem begins to shine forth.

The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand,
nor the kindly smile, nor the joy of companionship;
it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when
he discovers that someone else believes in him and
is willing to trust him with his friendship.

Submitted by: Christine

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A bowl of noodles from a stranger

Peter — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 02:59:45 +0000

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That night, Sue quarreled with her mother, then stormed out of the house. While enroute, she remembered that she did not have any money in her pocket, she did not even have enough coins to make a phone call home.

At the same time, she went through a noodle shop, picking up sweet fragrance, she suddenly felt very hungry. She wished for a bowl of noodles, but she had no money!

The seller saw her standing wheat faltered before the counter and asked:

- Hey little girl, you want to eat a bowl?

- But … but I do not carry money … she shyly replied.

- Okay, I’ll treat you – the seller said – come in, I will cook you a bowl.

A few minutes later the owner brought her a steaming bowl of noodles. Ate some pieces, Sue cried.

- What is it? – He asked.

- Nothing. I am just touched by your kindness! – Sue said as she wiped her tears.

- Even a stranger on the street gives me a bowl of noodles, and my mother, after a quarrel, chased me out of the house. She is cruel!!

The seller sighed:

- Girl, why did you think so? Think again. I only gave you a bowl of noodles and you felt that way. Your mother had raised you since you were little, why were you not grateful and disobeyed your mom?

Sue was really surprised after hearing that.

“Why did I not think of that? A bowl of noodles from a stranger made me feel indebted, and my mother has raised me since I was little and I have never felt so, even a little.”

On the way home, Sue thought in her head what she would say to her mother when she arrives home: “Mom, I’m sorry. I know it is my fault, please forgive me … ”

Once up the steps, Sue saw her mother worried and tired of looking for her everywhere. Upon seeing Sue, her mother gently said: “Sue, come inside honey. You are probably very hungry? I cooked rice and prepared the meal already, come eat while it is still hot …”

Can not control any longer, Sue cried in her mom’s hands.

In life, we sometimes easy to appreciate the small actions of some people around us, but for the relatives, especially parents, we see their sacrifices as a matter of natural …

Parental love and concern are the most precious gifts we have been given since birth.

Parents do not expect us to pay back for nurturing us …… but have we ever appreciated or treasure the unconditional sacrifice of our parents?