Attitude and Longitude

Giving yourself a reality check... is your job really too stinky?

I really love this post, Adjusting Your Attitude, by my acquaintance and fellow Launch Pad Job Club member, Jim Adcock.  In it he talks about working in his stepfather's construction business as a teenager and how it shaped his attitude for his career later.  

"...once in a while, the job was to remove a leaking system and replace it with a new one. Now that was a stinky job. So much so, in fact, that my attitude has been this ever since: once you have been ankle deep in someone else’s feces, no job is too stinky to deal with."

Later he adds:  "So take a moment to assess your own attitude.  Where are you seeing negatives when you could be seeing positives?  Is your job (or potential job) really stinkier than what I did, or could you see yourself as lucky not to be standing in a septic tank?"

Talk about giving yourself a reality check!

Eight Eternal Truths

A friend brought these to my attention.  Each one deeply resonates for me - do they resonate for you?

Eight truths which are eternal:
 
1.  We must acknowledgement our self perfection – We are and always have been of the One both in Source and within our Journeys.

2.  Accept the journey for which we have come – why fight the very things which we have come to learn?

3.  Maintain Personal integrity – That truth which is ours amongst all other things, that opportunity which we give ourselves to find the truth within us, not that which we have been conditioned by others to perceive.

4.  Be that which you are, not that which you perceive others would see – You are created of light, of Grace, and of that there cannot be imperfection, only that which is of Spirit. You do not need to improve yourselves, only to acknowledge that which is your God self, your perfect being.

5.  We must acknowledge our value – This is different than accepting perfection. Your value is how you fit within the world within and the exterior world in which you exist. To perceive that your value is greater than another’s, or less than someone else’s brings you to lack of everything else.

6.  Accept Your Power – You are great and mighty. True Power comes not of ego, but the collective One of our Spirit. True Power is Gentle Power. You are of the light and in its seemingly nebulous construct is the essence from which all things are made. To fear inner power is to suggest that you are less than all other things. In Truth, power is of Grace, not of abusiveness or negative use and your Grace is born of unconditionality. True Power is that which is Love, the intentional living as co-creator from within all opportunities that are offered you.

7.  Take Your value, Your perfection, Your power, Your Grace into your world – In the Now that always is, change only comes from practice of change. What this means is that to effect change we must embody it. You must walk your talk, not hide that which you know. Historically, that which is hidden is viewed as heresy in relation to the accepted norm. To change this, it is to create a new accepted norm with ease and Grace by virtue of your walking within the very light from which you are created.

8.  Love yourselves and touch everyone you encounter with love – As all energy exchanges, what will You accept from others and what will you leave behind? You can see all others as mirrors of yourselves, that their pain also resides somewhere within us, that their joy is in our hearts as well. This is why random acts of kindness make such a difference. How many times have you said “There by the Grace of God go I”? It is true. It has always been so.

By Meg Blackburn Losey, Ph.D.
http://www.spiritlite.com/8keys.php

"It's hard to wring my hands when I am busy rolling up my sleeves."

When I came across this quote by Linda Geraci, it really resonated with me.  Why?  I guess because when I worry about stuff, I don’t like to sit still over it.  I am definitely a doer.  As a matter of fact, a personality assessment I took way back in 1998 pegged me well with this statement: “Under pressure, concentrates on what has to be done and pushes for completion.” 

My work constantly brings me into close proximity with people who are in high stress and fear mode.  Their stress stems from dealing with a loss of control, a loss of stability and predictability.  I’ve observed that when I help them roll up their sleeves and take action (any kind, even just going out to get some exercise), they regain a sense of control again.  I’ve often wondered why that is and have concluded that their fear diminishes somewhat when they change their reaction to whatever is causing them stress.  And they definitely tend to feel more empowered and in control when they make a plan to move forward.

At the root base of the word “reaction” is the inherent concept of action.  If you subscribe to the notion that one thing you can control when everything else feels out of control is your reaction to the situation, then one step further in pushing away worry and fear is to take action.  First you control your reaction, next you take new action.  Or is it the other way around?  For me personally, these two steps go hand in hand and are intertwined so closely that I don’t know which comes first.  If I’m upset, my reaction is to get into action.  I’ll clean the house or walk the dog, and then I feel more in control.  So taking action actually helps me to change my reaction. 

Conclusion:  Stress is diminished by both thought (reaction) and deed (action).

Positive Power Thinking is NOT the same as Pollyanna Thinking

My husband knows how much I am into attitude shifting and the power of positive thinking so while visiting with a pal who owns a used bookstore, he saw an old book on the shelf by Robert Schuller called Power Thoughts and got it for me.  I've been sifting through it this week, wondering if it will give me some additional inspiration.  The work I do with people who are in fear and uncertainty during their career transitions really requires that I stay well-grounded and positive.  So, reading stuff like this is crucial to me. 

In the book, I came across a particular passage about positive vs negative thinking and the concept of how Pollyanna thinking is NOT the same as positive power thinking.  That really caught my attention because I find myself often explaining that just because I'm a glass-is-half-full type of person doesn't mean I'm a Pollyanna.  Schuller says that a positive power thinker "dares to face problems" while a naive Pollyanna thinker" will believe any preposterous proposition offered by a super zealot," and in doing so "sets aside the critical part of his mental capabilities" and is, therefore, a weak thinker vs a power thinker. 

He adds:
Negative thinking aborts power thoughts because it sees something wrong with the proposal.  Positive power thinking expects to see difficulties, challenges, problems, imperfections, shortfalls.  But it believes that the positive potential can be safely isolated, immunized, and then developed constructively, profitably, creatively, redemptively.  That's why positive Power Thinkers ultimately emerge as the real achievers.

Okay, so now that's what I'm talkin' about!  Don't know about you, but I'm feeling inspired and ready to take on the day! 

My Book Signing Was More Profound Than A Dream Come True

I love books.  Words.  Writing.  Reading.  I always have - apparently before I could remember.  My mom says that I pretended to read books even before I could read. 

In high school I hung out with a group of my friends in the library habitually before school started everyday.  Sitting among the books, we discussed the books we were reading.  Geekiness at its finest!  

Not long after graduation, I visited a campus library, and the aroma of old books triggered for me what I would describe as similar to a profound spiritual experience (and I've had many profound spiritual experiences so far!).  I have loved books so much during my life that I even got a job at a bookstore during my last couple of years in college. 

Well, about 20 years have passed since I worked in the bookstore dreaming of having my own book on the shelf, and on Thursday I had my first-ever book signing.  It was an absolutely wonderful event.  However, something unexpected happened to me...   

There I was, fully anticipating I'd savor the moment of achievement.  I thought the thrill would be in the seeing of my book on the shelf or in the signing of copies of it for people.  And, don't get me wrong, I was, indeed, very excited.  This was one of my lifelong fantasies coming true, but, suprisingly, what I ended up savoring the most wasn't the achievement at all.  What ended up thrilling me the most was experiencing the gathering of loved ones who came to celebrate this moment with me - my husband, my daughter, my colleagues & clients, and my friends.  They beamed their love toward me, and I felt it - and I even felt it from those friends and family members who couldn't be there in person because they have all expressed their joy about my joy over the birth of this book. 

After all is said and done, I guess you could say that I had another profound experience in connection to books again... but this time it has had to do with the love of and gratitude for those who share their journeys with me.  The book was merely a catalyst for something far more wonderful, and I have been touched in a way that goes much deeper than the already-deep joy that I have over making a dream come true. 

Life is but a dream...

In this world of dreams,
drifting off still more;
and once again speaking
and dreaming of dreams.
Just let it be.
-Ryokan


Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.  But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!"
-Matthew 14:30


Maya is the veil of transitoriness in Nature, the ceaseless becoming of creation; the veil that each man must lift in order to see behind it the Creator, the changeless Immutable, eternal Reality.
-Paramahansa Yogananda


"The world is a dream, you say, and it's lovely, sometimes.  Sunset.  Clouds.  Sky."
"No.  The image is a dream.  The beauty is real.  Can you see the difference?"
-Richard Bach, Illusions


Row, row, row your boat
gently down the stream.
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily;
life is but a dream.

Nick Vujicic shows us how to get up and finish strong - Wow!

Watch this video and be inspired - obviously, the teenagers in his audience were!  Notice the raw beauty of love on Nick's face at the very end.  This is a man who is helping to change the world.

Career Empowerment Discussion on Co-Creator Radio Network

Mary Adams of Co-Creator Radio Network and I spoke yesterday on her hour-long internet radio show, Let the Day Begin.  We had a great, uplifting discussion about career empowerment. 

If you'd like to hear the mp3 recording, click Download 2009-04-10_Co-Creator Network Interview or click here to listen directly to the show on the Let the Day Begin archives at their website.

Wishing you all an empowered path!