Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Inner Strength

"Although men are accused for not knowing their own weakness, yet perhaps as few know their own strength. It is in men as in soils, where sometimes there is a vein of gold which the owner knows not of." -Jonathan Swift

So often we are self critical of ourselves, finding fault in our talents or abilities. I am not sure why that is, but I do hear it often from various people. We take those 'deficiencies' and analyze them over and over again. The weight given to these faults is much more then the inner strengths that each of us possess.

We forget that strengths mean as much if not more in our lives then do the faults. But what does happen is that we allow those faults to overcome and beat down that inner strength.

Take your 'vein of gold' and use inner strength to build your life. You will be amazed at how it changes your life. Moving from the 'half empty' to 'half full' mentality of attitude. You do have talents; you do have inner strength that you can build upon.

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

You Can Do It

Trust yourself. You know more than you think you do.” -Benjamin Spock

When ever I hear or think about trust oneself, I think back to a movie called "The Waterboy". There is a recurring person that is always extolling to the main character, "You Can Do It". The phrase has stuck with me and is one that I always repeat to myself when in doubt.

I also use it to encourage others; very simple but powerful in its message. You should know that each of us is capable of so much more. Our only problem is in trusting those abilities. So when you are faced with some obstacle or maybe an opportunity; say to yourself, "you can do it".

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Steve Deal Band

Today I'm doing a bit of promoting for a friend of mine, Steve Deal. He is a very talented song writer. His music genre is Christian music, but very free flowing and lifts your spirits greatly.

A review of his music explained that "Steve grew up in the small country town of Cootamundra in rural Australia. He learned to play the drums and started playing in a garage band at the age of 15. While backpacking around the USA in 1988 at the age 18, Steve picked up his first guitar and immediately began writing songs. Steve honed his guitar playing skills in clubs around Sydney but mostly by playing in a band in church every week for 10 years. Currently, Steve works as a music director at Christian city church in Atlanta and has several albums to his credit."

The following video is an example of his talent.



If interested in his music, find free downloads through the link or search for Steve Deal Band on Google or your favorite search engine. Support a 'starving artist' as they always say.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Techniques To Improve Attitude

"Nature presents us with an infinite variety of attitudes--from gloomy mist to glorious sunshine. Our own moods, whether gloomy or bright, radiate to those around us."

The following information comes from a publication released by the West Virginia University Extension Service. It is called THE WINNING ATTITUDE

The article offers eight techniques to help you adjust your attitude. Each of these are ideas that seem very simple, but they are effective.

1. Employ the flip side technique.

When a "negative" enters your life, flip the problem over and look for whatever humor may exist on the other side. When this is successful, you will be able to minimize the negative impact of a problem on your attitude. Humor is an important ingredient in this technique.

2. Play your winners.

Like a business, you have winners in your life. The more you focus on them the better. All of us have to deal with positive factors (winners) and negative factors
(losers) in our lives. If not careful, we let losers push the winners in the background. Some ways to make your winners more important include:

* THINK about your winners. Concentrate on the positives.
* TALK about your winners. Talk about the happy, exciting things of life.
* REWARD yourself by enjoying your winners. Do what you enjoy.

3. Simplify! Simplify!

Free yourself from complications. An uncluttered focus helps you accept and enjoy life's simple pleasures. Each of us probably has some cluttered areas that we could clear out:

* Unused and unappreciated possessions,
* Too many involvements,
* Career-home imbalance,
* Putting off the little things, and
* Holding on to worn-out relationships.

4. Insulate! Insulate!

Learn to live with certain "no-win" situations that cannot be resolved, thrown out, or ignored. Each of us probably has a way of working out or coping with some of these situations: talk about it, work harder, laugh, share problem with supreme being, or change environments.

5. Give your positive attitude to others.

You can keep your positive attitude by giving it to others. Everyone winds up a winner when positive attitudes are shared.

6. Look better to yourself.

Often you look better to others than you do to yourself. When you have a poor self-image, you are looking through a glass darkly. When you feel you don't look good, nothing else looks good. But, when you look good to yourself, everything else looks better. You may want to adjust your positive attitude through image improvements such as improving your wardrobe, changing your hairstyle or cosmetics, looking healthier, being yourself, or keeping a good self-image.

7. Accept the physical connection.

Most people feel there is a relationship between physical well-being and attitude. Exercise helps keep us out of attitudinal ruts.

8. Clarify your mission.

An individual with a purpose is more apt to have a positive attitude than someone without direction. A purpose in life helps individuals keep focused, provides perspective, and destroys uncertainty.

The previous techniques are a great way to start. They are a great path to a different you that will take you from the negative to the positive mind set. Begin a new journey to a new you.