Evan Esar Success Quote

“Success is the good fortune that comes from aspiration, desperation, perspiration and inspiration.”
Evan Esar

Ain’t that the truth! There’s no such thing as good luck. The things we desire most are the things we are willing to put the most effort and passion into attaining. So get inspired and take action…put the work in and you will be successful!

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Edith Wharton Inspirational Quote

“There are two ways of spreading light, to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.”
Edith Wharton

Everyone can spread light in their own lives and the lives of others. You’re either the right up front light or the soft light that throws focus on the good things in life. Which are you?

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Discovering Happiness in Your Life

Happiness is a choice. It’s true. You can choose to let life’s circumstances get you down or you can choose to be happy no matter what challenges life brings.

Happiness is already within each of us and we are born to be naturally happy! For example, have you ever noticed how infectious a baby’s giggle is? So why is it that, as we get older, we forget where to find happiness within ourselves and, instead, allow outside forces to determine our happiness?

You can determine your own happiness by following these simple strategies:

• When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Cliché, I know, however it’s so true. You don’t have to let life’s troubles and problems get you down. Yes, there will always be troubles because no one is perfect, but you can choose your reaction to situations. Look at the positive side of things and work hard to see the good in people and circumstances.

• Find something you love to do and do it. Do you have a lifelong dream or desire? If so, start working toward it. Taking baby steps towards a dream or goal will help you feel like you’re accomplishing something. You’ll find drive and determination to reach that goal when it’s something you love to do.

• Do you have a gift or talent you’re not using? One reason so many people are unhappy is that they’re not doing what they’re called to do with their God-given talents. Each and every one of us has a purpose in life. You have natural gifts and talents to help you achieve your purpose, so use your gifts effectively!

• When you’re feeling down, don’t wallow in your sorrows alone; do something about it. Call a friend who you know is positive and cheerful. Talk about your feelings and listen to their advice. So often, people allow themselves to go deeper and deeper into self-pity or depression because they think it has to be that way. The truth is, you don’t have to be sad and you shouldn’t be. You can decide to be happy. You just have to make up your minds to do so.

• Think about all the things you have to be thankful for. Often you get so caught up in what’s wrong with your life that you forget to look at what’s right and good. Take a step back and reflect on your life. How far have you come from, say, six months ago?

• Do you have children or family to be thankful for? Yes, they may not be everything we’d like them to be, but imagine life without them. Now, be thankful that you have them in your life.

• Do you have a job? Maybe it’s not your dream job, but in today’s economy, those of us who have a job should be thankful for it.

• When you’re feeling down, journal your thoughts and feelings. Often you’ll find that just getting your feelings down on paper will allow you to work through them, helping you to feel better about yourself and your beautiful life!

If you’ve been prone to look at life negatively, then you’ll have to put more effort into seeing and choosing happiness. But don’t let that stop you from being happy! You, too, can learn to be happy.

Practice the steps above and train your mind to focus intensely on the positives. When you feel a negative thought coming on, or your mind gravitates toward the negative, learn to recognize it, stop it in its tracks, and then start thinking happier thoughts.

Starting from this moment onward, make the conscious choice to be happy!

Manifesting Wealth and Abundance

Manifesting wealth and abundance begins from within. You have to appreciate what you have in your life already – your family, friends, and job – instead of focusing on what you wish you had.

Often people waste precious time thinking about what they don’t have. They start to believe their lives will improve if only they had more money, or more friends, or more gadgets. They think about what’s lacking instead of the abundance that is already overflowing into their life.

Positive Thinking Brings Abundance

If you appreciate what you have, you’ll be inspired to take the necessary actions to bring more of what you want into your life. From a practical point of view, this all starts with living happily with what you have.

Now at first, this may sound rather counterproductive, but living happily with what you have doesn’t mean you’re completely satisfied and fulfilled. It simply means that you appreciate all the good parts of your life, and you recognize that you can take those things you have, even if they are few, and build upon them.

Very often we take our lives for granted and forget to give thanks for all that is good. If you’re having a tough time recognizing the goodness in your life, then make a gratitude list and continue adding to it everyday. For example:

• Be thankful when paying the rent because this means you have a place to sleep.

• Be thankful for your winter coat because you’ll stay warm this winter.

• Be thankful for your family because of their love, support and guidance you.

• Be thankful for your job because it has allowed you to provide for your family.

If you can be happy with what you have now, you’ll have a deeper appreciation for the better circumstances that are coming to you in your future. Just imagine how much more you’ll appreciate your eventual move to a large home with a spacious property if you begin to enjoy your current humble place.

Keeping Up with the Neighbors

Remember, the term “wealth” doesn’t only relate to money. You can be wealthy by having a loving family who visits often or friends who care for you like one of their own. There’s much more to life than who has the latest designer purse or fanciest sports car in the neighborhood.

If you constantly compare yourself to your neighbor, based solely on material possessions, you may not fully understand what your neighbor’s life is like. He may appear wealthy with his BMW, but perhaps he is suffering in his personal life. Be very careful making judgments about others because you never truly know what’s going on behind closed doors. Material possessions alone do not make an abundant life.

First Steps Toward Wealth

When you don’t have a lot of material possessions and monetary wealth, it ironically becomes easier for you to learn how to save money. Saving money is paramount if you want to build monetary wealth, but in order to do so, you have to learn how to delay gratification. That means you must make sure you’re making more money than you’re spending. Ideally you want to pay for everything you have, not finance it – without truly owning your possessions and going into debt, you’re actually moving farther away from wealth.

Besides saving money, the real way to build wealth is to make more money. That may sound rather obvious, but too many people aren’t making the money they can and should. You have to make the conscious decision to get unstuck from your dead-end job and the rat race.

You have to rise above the crowd and do something different. That may mean you have to discover creative ways for you to make more money. For many people today, that may mean getting involved in a virtual office or an Internet-based business, but whatever the case might be for you, you can elevate yourself.

If you’re unhappy with the money you’re making, you have to starting thinking about ways to increase the amount of money you make so you can realize your dreams. Now go get started!

Hans Selye Stress Quote

“It’s not stress that kills us, it is our reaction to it.”
Hans Selye

Ahh! So profound! Everyone has stresses in their lives…everyday of their lives. Why do some people seem to be able to breath easy through them all and others’ manifest dis-eases within themselves in reaction to these stresses?

I’m a big advocate of meditation and energy healing as I believe both help to alleviate stress and also help you to use stress in a productive way. Stress doesn’t have to be all bad. Our reaction to it is what pushes some of us over the edge into destructive behavior, especially where our health is concerned. Getting a handle on stress can help you to live a longer, healthier life!

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Stop Living in Fear of a Financial Meltdown

Everywhere you go, you hear about how awful the economy is, but you don’t have to let all the talk of our country’s financial meltdown get you down. You can keep your cool.

Don’t let fear of the future take control of your mind and emotions. When we live in fear, we make bad decisions, think irrationally, and are in a reactive mode. Living in fear actually makes the situation far worse.

To help overcome the fear of your financial future, here are some proactive things you can do:

• Turn off the news. Why would you want to listen to bad news over and over? We already know the state of the economy, so listening to a news reporter talk doom and gloom all the time isn’t necessary.

• Ensure you’re on a budget and living within your means. If you need to cut back, then find ways to do so. There are many, many ways to reduce the cost of living with a little planning and effort. Here are some examples:

• Reduce your cell phone bill
• Get rid of your land line if you have a cell phone
• Shut off the cable (who needs it anyway?)
• Turn off the lights and unplug electronic devices when not in use
• Turn your thermostat down in winter and wear sweaters to keep warm
• Open windows in the summer instead of turning on the air conditioner
• Use coupons and shop for the weekly sales at your local grocery store

• Plan ahead by setting up an emergency fund. Of course, this involves living on a budget so you can save enough money from your income for emergencies. An emergency fund is usually a minimum of $1,000 in savings at all times and is used for emergencies only, like unexpected vehicle repairs or medical needs. If you can afford more, then save more!

• Plan for the future by getting rid of debt and using cash only. Again, this requires living on a budget, but it can be done.

How to Budget in a Recession

Since we’re talking about budgeting so much and it’s the best way to keep your cool during the financial meltdown, let’s talk about ways to set up a budget and reduce debt.

• Figure out your income after taxes. Know what you’re bringing in each month so you can determine how much you have to spend. Sounds obvious, but why is it so common for people to spend way more than they make? Far too often, people don’t know how much they really make, nor where the money goes!

• Make sure your living needs are met. These things include your house payment, utilities, food, and property taxes.

• Next, make sure your transportation to get to and from work is taken care of. Things like your vehicle payment, gas and maintenance. This is one area you may be able to cut back on as well. If you’re making a car payment, try to sell the car and buy a used one with cash. You may also want to consider taking public transportation more often.

• Pay off credit card debt. Start paying off the card with the highest interest rate first. Once that card is paid off, put your payments toward the card with the next highest interest rate and so on, until each card is paid off. You may also want to contact a financial planner to discuss consolidating the debt to make it more manageable.

• Once your credit card debt is paid off, begin putting all the money you were paying out into savings. The goal is to build your savings up to at least 6 months worth of income in case something happens, like job loss or disability.

By following the steps above, with diligence and determination, you can be debt free and survive the financial meltdown! Of course, this won’t happen overnight and you’ll probably have to adjust your lifestyle so you can live below your means, but doing so will help secure your future financially.

Five Simple Relaxation Tips

Everyone experiences times throughout the day where you just wish you could relax for even a few minutes.

You already know that relaxation helps your body re-energize, but sometimes you’re so busy and caught up in the moment that you just don’t have the time to unwind.

Well, fortunately there are simple ways to relax, even during your busiest days, that don’t require a lot of time or equipment.

Here are 5 Simple Relaxation Tips:

1. When you’re in line at the grocery store: Instead of stressing out because there aren’t enough cashiers and every line has 5 people with heaping carts of groceries, use that time to relax your body by taking some deep breaths.

• Deep breathing helps increase the oxygen in your blood. Your blood then circulates that extra oxygen throughout your body helping your inner systems recharge.

• Taking five slow deep breaths will do the trick. The proper technique is to inhale and exhale deeply through your nose and out your mouth.

• Not only will deep breathing help you relax, it’ll help to clear your mind, reduce brain fog, and you’ll feel much more alert and ready to tackle the next project on your plate.

• Deep breathing can be done anywhere when you’re feeling stressed or just want to clear your mind.

2. When you’re at work: It’s often hard to find time to relax at work. You might even get in trouble if you’re caught “relaxing.” Oh the horror! However, there are some techniques you can do while you’re at work to help create a sense of calm that aren’t so obvious to others.

• If your job requires you to sit at a computer all day, make sure you get up and move around for a few minutes every hour. This helps circulate the blood throughout your body. Just moving the blood flow will make you feel more alert and focused.

• While sitting at your desk, roll your head around, from side to side and from front to back with your eyes closed. This technique helps to relieve neck tension, increasing blood flow to your brain, which is a natural and easy way to relax.

• If you’re on your feet all day, stretch out your back and sides by standing with your feet firm on the floor, shoulder width apart, and twist your upper body, including your head, slowly from side to side. This will loosen up your back muscles and spine, releasing tension throughout your body.

• During a break or lunchtime, go for a walk. Walking is a great way to clear your mind and your body will benefit from the extra exercise as well.

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3. When you’re rushing through a busy day: Take just a few moments to daydream and escape the busyness of reality.

• Daydreaming lets your imagination flow, causing instant relief from the stress of the real world.

• Think of a place or experience that makes you feel happy or calm. Imagine how it smells, how the air feels, and who’s around.

• After five minutes of a calming daydream you’ll feel relaxed, reenergized and ready to face the real world again.

4. Wherever you’re at, smile: Smiling is proven to help relax and rejuvenate your body.

• When you’re out and about, smile at others around you.

• When you’re at work, smile at your co-workers. Not only will it help you relax, it’ll help relax them as well.

• Smile at your children when you’re toting them around to all their different activities. This will create a peaceful environment you’ll all enjoy.

5. When the going gets tough, laugh: Laughter’s proven to be an instant stress reliever. Now I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t want to be seen as a nut case, so laughing out loud when you’re in line at the store or sitting at your desk may not be the best time. When you can, get someone involved in your laughter with you.

• Tell a funny joke or story to a co-worker (at an appropriate time, of course).

• Play a fun game or sing a silly song with your kids as you’re driving.

• Watch funny videos on YouTube.

Engaging in these simple, everyday relaxation techniques will help to sustain and strengthen you throughout your day. It’ll also make it easier to unwind when you get home. Your friends, co-workers, and family will all appreciate the new, relaxed you!