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INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:
"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeing new landscapes, but in having new eyes."
~ Marcel Proust

 DON'T FORGET TO PACK YOUR INSIGHT!

How wonderful it is to learn new things and see new places! How would we ever grow as individuals if we never experienced anything different from that which we see and do in our daily lives? Two different voyages come to mind, however, when considering the discovery of that which is "new" - an outward journey and one which turns inward.

Your outward "voyage of discovery" takes you to different places and new people. You begin to understand other things outside yourself. This can be as simple as discovering new-found beauty on a wilderness "adventure" or having an engaging conversation with someone from a completely different part of the country or the world. The ultimate goal here can be not just looking at new things, but looking at things in a new way! A change of scenery can cause a change of mind.

But you can still experience a voyage of discovery even if you don't travel anywhere, even if you don't meet anyone new today. You don't have to change your surroundings, just the way you look at them - with "new eyes!" Sometimes stepping back and looking again at the Big Picture can reveal things that you never saw before. The solution to an ongoing problem can suddenly manifest itself. You can finally discover a way to handle someone who has been "difficult."

This can often be the key to unlocking the door to your happiness - finding a way to change yourself instead of changing what surrounds you. For all those situations that seem to be out of your control, you have to realize that you are always in control of yourself. So much stress comes from frustration. Don't keep running up against that rock that represents your problems. Try to act like the water that simply flows around the rock as it continues its journey downstream. Your inward voyage of change can have dramatic results on how you see what is around you! Enjoy your new outlook!

 KNOW WHAT YOU WANT?

The next time your hope or ambition is thwarted, and you believe that you did not get what you wanted, think about the quote above. The problem so many of us have is that we are not happy with what we have already got. We believe that there is something or someone else out there, outside of ourselves, that will make us happier than we are now.

It is really so much easier to simply find a way to appreciate what we have got. That is not to say that we should all become complacent. Doing things to make other people happy is a wonderful diversion from trying to do so for ourselves. Just remember that you are the one who is ultimately responsible for your happiness, not the "something or someone" that is outside of you.

While trying to make others happy, also remember that they are ultimately responsible for their happiness as well. Do not blame yourself if you don't think you did enough to cheer up a friend, or you weren't able to give them that gift they really wanted. The greatest gift you can give is to help someone realize that they already have everything they really need. Sometimes this is the gift you need to give yourself.

Sit down today and try counting your blessings - list things like family, friends, pets, mobility, a satisfying job, shelter, financial independence, food in the fridge - any and all things great and small. Stand back and take a look at the "Big Picture." No matter what you think you want, you will realize that you have got it pretty darn good right here, right now. Anything else is just icing on the cake! Enjoy the sweetness!

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:
"A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable
but more useful than a life spent doing nothing."
~ George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)

 MAKE SOMETHING OUT OF NOTHING!

When is the last time someone told you it is okay to screw things up? Well, unless you are a neurosurgeon or ballot counter in Florida, it is okay! For most of us, a mistake is an action that can be corrected - it is not usually the end of the world, although we are sometimes made to feel that way. Everyone makes mistakes, so do not let someone else tell you that your mistakes are any worse than theirs.

Of course, we all prefer to succeed rather than to fail. Just remember that most successes actually are the result of at least one failure, if not dozens. Just imagine the realm of scientific discovery - almost every step forward in the name of science really came from taking a lot of steps back! Although trying does not always mean you will succeed, you will obviously never succeed without at least trying.

Our mistakes are at least a sign of effort (and of room for improvement!). We just have to keep going until we get it right - study harder, pay more attention to details, listen more carefully. There is honor in persistence - you cannot be faulted unless you just give up. We are taught from an early age that mistakes are acceptable as long as you learn from them.

By focusing only on successfully reaching our destination, we tend to overlook the journey and all we can learn (and teach) along the way. Every mistake is an opportunity from which either we or our peers can learn something. In "Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun," author Wess Roberts observes that "every hun is useful, if only to serve as a bad example."

We all know the adage about "nothing ventured, nothing gained." If we do nothing, then we teach nothing, learn nothing, and gain nothing. If we are afraid of failure, then we are ultimately doomed to experience it. Embrace life's challenges, do the best that you can do, and be willing to accept the consequences! Make mistakes, but at least make something!

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:
"There are two ways to look at life. One is as though nothing
is a miracle; the other is as though everything is."
~ Albert Einstein

 RETURN THIS GIFT, PLEASE!

One major holiday down, at least one more to go, and then it’s the New Year. At this time of year, it’s very easy to get caught up in expectations and to lose sight of reality. Some are trying to squeeze an entire year of visits with friends and family into a one-month time frame, while others may be experiencing that certain melancholy that attends the circumstance of not having friends or family with whom to share the joy of the season.

Why do we feel so overwhelmed during these last months of the year? Partly, it’s the impression that society has commercialized what should otherwise be an opportunity to gather in love, fellowship and gratitude. Regardless of the warmly glowing lights and the gifts wrapped in glittering paper and bows, the magic is absent.

Skeptics of the season find that “nothing is a miracle,” because they feel that the significance and majesty of our holidays have been sucked dry by high prices and higher expectations. However, there are those lucky folks out there who have found that everything is a miracle, not just at the holidays, but also throughout life.

It’s time to put on your “miracle goggles” by shunning the exchange of piles of presents and avoiding the bright and shiny department stores. Those things simply confirm our worst suspicions, and rob us of the joy we’re supposed to feel and share with others.

This year, your gifts to friends and family could take the form of donations to charitable organizations, given in their name. If you give it some thought, you’d recognize that everyone you know has some cause for which they feel strongly.

Remember that Philanthropy always comes in the right size and color, and never needs dusting or ironing. If you’re lucky, this gift just might be returned!

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:
"In Italy, for thirty years under the Borgias, they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland, they had brotherly love, they had five hundred years of democracy and peace - and what did they produce? The cuckoo clock." ~ From the movie "The Third Man" (1949)

 THE CUCKOO BIRD OF HAPPINESS!

This passage makes you ponder where our inspiration and our motivation come from. How many great movements came out of times of peace? Not to knock happiness, but complacency tends to breed laziness, unless we keep ourselves aware of the issues that might truly affect us.

We are all familiar with the concept of the "starving artist" - rationalized for ages now by saying one must suffer for one's art. Of course, this is not necessarily true. Plenty of beautiful art and literature has been produced by "happy" people. But isn't it interesting that the most controversial, thought-provoking, and powerful works do in fact come out of suffering and a desire to educate others about suffering, cruelty, and wrong-doing?

It seems that people really get motivated by what angers them - when we are happy and complacent, we tend not to get involved in troubling issues. Apathy often arises when we feel that we simply have no say in the result, when we feel disempowered or our vote does not really count. But very often our apathy is the result of the fact that overall, we feel pretty good about our situation and feel that we do not necessarily need to get involved - we are happy with the way things are, so let them be and let other people worry about the issues that affect them.

It is our problems - and how we handle them - that help us to grow as individuals. Those challenges in our lives force us to find solutions, solutions that sometimes mean changing ourselves in some way, or changing how we interact with others. Too much "smooth sailing" can leave you asleep at the rudder! Try to see your problems and challenges as opportunities to produce something great or effect a change for the better.

If you are fortunate enough to say, "I am truly happy with all things as they are in my life," then do not become complacent. Find yourself a cause that you believe in and become involved in its promotion. Your life and the lives of those around you will become better for it!

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:
"I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody."
~ Bill Cosby

 WHO'S GRADING YOUR EXAM?

Ah, the concepts of failure and success.   Our perspective on each has an effect on nearly every aspect of our lives - work, play, and relationships.   How do we define our failures and our successes, or our potential for each?   If you are taking a multiple-choice exam, then the answer is pretty easy - it is how many correct answers you mark versus how many incorrect answers.   The more you mark correctly, the more successful you are on the exam.

Although life too can be seen as a series of "multiple choice" problems, there is not necessarily an instructor giving us the answers from which to choose, or who can "grade" our performance once we have decided.   No, it is really up to us as individuals to evaluate our choices and our actions.   Yet so many of us look to others to measure our success.  

Who is the top producer in your office?   Who has the most base hits on your league's softball team?   You have got to be careful not to define success by a single aspect of one's performance.   Every person is an individual, who needs to decide for himself or herself how to define his or her success.   If you are simply measuring yourself against everyone else, or what you believe everyone else expects of you, you may be cheating yourself out of true happiness.

Do not try to please everyone, because it simply cannot be done.   But pleasing yourself is easy when you do the best job you can do - at work, at the gym, at home - and know in your heart that you have succeeded according to the goals you have established for yourself.   Do not let anyone tell you that you are a failure because you have not "measured up" against someone else or their definition of success.  

You are a winner every day that you believe you are a winner.   Start telling yourself today that you are a success, that you will be a success, and follow your ambition as far as it will lead you - that's all there is to it!

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:
"Few people can be happy unless they hate some other person, nation or creed."
~ Bertrand Russell (1872-1949)

 THE PLEASURES OF TOLERANCE!

We probably all know someone who fits the description quoted above - people who are not happy unless they are unhappy about someone or something.   They are the perpetual complainers, always blaming what is happening around them on others or others' belief systems.   They tend to look outside themselves for explanations of why things are the way they are.

Have you ever noticed that things always happen TO them, but they never actually cause things to happen themselves?   You might describe them best as "reactionaries," because all they ever do is "react" (negatively) to what other people think, do, or believe.   They try to make themselves look better by making others look worse!

What type of person would you rather be?   One who expertly criticizes everything, or one who finds a way to tolerate the thoughts, actions, and beliefs of those around you?   The former will cause stress resulting in headaches, ulcers, and the disdain of those with whom you work and play.   The latter will produce feelings of happiness and compassion, while passing along your positive outlook to others around you who will respect and admire your policy of tolerance.

In our current global climate, it is easy to be suspicious and critical of other cultures and beliefs.   However, for the very reasons we might be led to hate, it is all the more important to display love, tolerance, and an attempt at understanding.   Do your best to find the best in others, and your efforts will come back to you in kind.   It is the ethics of reciprocity.   You remember the Golden Rule, "Do unto others as you would have done unto you."   As corny as it may sound, it still rings true today.   So set your example - do not be "Reactive," be "Proactive"!

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:
“So is cheerfulness, or a good temper, the more it is spent, the more remains.”
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

 THE POWER OF NEGATIVE THINKING!

"If everything is coming your way, you are in the wrong lane." We have all read or heard similar humorous observations regarding the idea that, when all seems to be going well, it is merely the precursor to some sort of disaster. Unfortunately, many people seem to base their attitudes on that perception and, even more regrettably, they often permit such negativity to influence not only their lives but also the lives of others.

Is it possible you have never been guilty of this transgression? When a colleague made a particularly impressive sale, did you ever say something along the lines of "Well, it'll probably take forever to top that one!" or "Too bad you can't do that all the time, huh?"

Have you ever told someone going on a trip that you have been there before and had a terrible time? Even telling a child who brings home a good report card to "Keep it up!" can lessen the moment, because it implies that the current achievement is not truly enough or that you fear poor performance in the future. Such statements carry “conditional approval” that demands future accomplishment as well.

One of the keys to harmony, in the workplace or at home, is for everyone to feel good - about themselves and about their accomplishments. The next time you have the opportunity to make a comment, take a moment and carefully consider what you are saying - and how you are saying it. Squash any negativity right then and there.

It is an attitude that is easy to change once you are aware of it and its effect on those around you. Simply put, view the glass as being half full, not half empty. The power of negative thinking can make an even stronger impression than that of positive thinking, so be careful how you wield that power!

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:
“Between you and me, sir, I’ll have to see him before I’ll believe he’s invisible.”
~ Lester Cole, screenwriter for “The Invisible Man Returns”

 DOES IT STILL FIT?

Last year, scientists reported creating an “invisibility cloak.” The device bends electromagnetic radiation around itself, making whatever it covers appear invisible. So far they have only tested the device with microwaves, but the theory may work with visible light, too. In the world of fantasy, young wizard Harry Potter already often benefits from a magic invisibility cloak.

How many of us have wondered what it would be like to be invisible? As children, we marveled at the power of anonymity to create havoc, and imagined listening undetected to forbidden conversations. As teenagers, perhaps we longed for invisibility from the difficulties posed during that stage of life. Then, the fantasy of invisibility was a good and fun one, in the spirit of escapism.

But as adults, does the desire for invisibility leave us? By and large, “grown-ups” view invisibility in a negative light. To be invisible is to be overlooked, unimportant, or even sinister. To be invisible is to be an outsider.

However, from time to time, we all could use a little invisibility - invisibility from the cell phone, from the kids, from being "on call," or just from the chaos of modern life. Sure, the fantasy has changed from when we were children. Now we may just long for an hour during the day that is all ours, with no interruptions.

So, go find your old invisibility cloak and dust it off. Try it on for an hour - and remember just how much fun it is to be invisible!

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:
"People fail forward to success."
~ Mary Kay Ash

 FAILING FORWARD!

It has been observed that although experience can be the best teacher, you get it by taking the exam before you have actually taken the course!

Quite expectedly, many of us do not perform well initially when attempting something new. While there is such a thing as a "natural talent" in just about any field of endeavor, it is probably safe to assume that most people working (or playing) at anything, from the practice of law to the game of tennis, have a long road behind them paved with what they considered (at the time) to be failures.

Every experience we have, however, should be a learning process. And our so-called "failures" are in fact the “experiences” from which we learn the most. Early on in life, the way we gain our sense of balance is from falling down when we first attempt to walk. Every fall, every "failure," eventually led to success.

It is a rare individual who does well in his or her first attempt at anything. Despite Yoda's philosophy in the Star Wars saga that "there is no try; there is only do," most of us ending up "doing" after repeated attempts at "trying." Eventually, we “do” manage to succeed.

So perhaps what Yoda was saying, after all, is that when we finally achieve our goals, it is only the end result that matters - because everything we previously considered failure simply becomes part of the process of success. Then we have indeed "failed forward!"