Promises Kept

"The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep." - Robert Frost

There is an old song I listened to during my high school years. It was one that always had to be played before a dance was ever complete. I am talking of the famed, "Smoke On The Water" by Deep Purple. While the song is about a fire that broke out at a concert, none of us cared as it was "the" song we had to hear.

The song title and vision to me is one of smoke drifting out over the water. A vision of something that is thin, of no real substance and can be whisked away with the lightest of breezes. It is very similar to that of unfulfilled promises, which fill a vacant heart with hope and encouragement. A promise that quickly evaporates leaving behind what was there in the beginning...nothing.

Your promises to others have a large impact on others when kept.

Your promises have a huge effect on you when they go unfulfilled.

As Shakespeare wrote of unkept promises, "His promises were, as he then was, mighty; But his performance, as he is now, nothing."

Make your promises mean something; make them mean everything for those given to and it will fill you with greatness.

Stay inspired my friends!

Stand Out in Confidence

Andrew Rich (Getty Images)

"Confidence comes from not being afraid to fail. And when I do fail, I just say, Okay, I'll fix it." - Ben Kaufman

I was reading an iVillage online magazine article some time back which provided a "confidence checklist." It contained the following items;

- People who believe in themselves take charge of their actions.
- They act assertively, speak calmly and listen properly.
- They're flexible towards people, circumstances and all things new.
- They're able to give genuine praise and to accept constructive criticism.
- They evaluate themselves realistically.
- They appreciate their achievements.
- They learn from their mistakes.
- They aren't run by 'shoulds', 'musts' and 'ought tos'.
- When an opportunity comes up they say 'Why not?' rather than 'Why?'
- They feel they can influence situations and outcomes.

I am reminded of being confident as I watch the various young children during Halloween. This year I dressed up as the Sesame Street character Oscar the Grouch. As expected with very young children, there will be varying degrees of confidence shown. Some will come right up and shake your hand while others will scurry behind their parent to hide.

The development of confidence occurs at different rates.

Confidence is within all of us, but whether it shines through or whether it remains hidden can depend upon how we are treated as children and young adults. Were you encouraged, were you constantly being scared, were you nourished, were you diminished; many things will shape our lives.

As we get older though and take greater responsibility for our lives, the ability to be confident is inside you regardless of how your life was shaped. in who we are and what our abilities are will grow stronger. You can change, you can learn to be more confident in all that you do.

Dr Brian Roet, author of The Confidence to be Yourself, suggests you self-reflect in three ways to help gain or regain your own confidence:

1. Know yourself

Think about the sort of person you are. Think about your dominant personality characteristics. Then identify what motivates you; what challenges you; what frightens you; and what pleases you. Examine what you want out of life, long term, as well as what you currently give, and take, from it. Put all this together to reveal a holistic picture of who you are.

2. Like yourself

Now, ask yourself, do you approve of the person you see? Or do you feel negative and critical and guilty about who you are? It's more likely that you experience a combination of all these reactions. Write down all your good points. If this is too difficult to do alone, get a friend to help? They might be able to perceive what you can't. Read over your list. Focus on it. Recognise it to be true. Remember it. Trust it.

3. Accept yourself

To find the meaning of confidence, and to get closer to achieving it, we have to, first of all, accept the way we are ? today. Tell yourself that you can still aim for improvements for the future, but that you are happy with yourself in the present.

Finding confidence within oneself will enable you to accomplish and enjoy so much more in life. Look for and find the confidence that resides within you.

And stay inspired my friends!

Bring on the Day

"Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It's perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we've learned something from yesterday." - John Wayne

Each day brings a new beginning, a new opportunity to improve upon that which we experienced today.

You live your best effort during the present with the knowledge that tomorrow will be there waiting for you.

Charles M. Schulz, creator of the comic "Peanuts" said, most likely tongue-in-cheek, "Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It's already tomorrow in Australia."

Tomorrow will come so live today trying all you can.

Improve yourself by the experience of yesterday and know a new day will bring fresh vision to your life.

Stay inspired my friends.

Revealing Hidden Connections

"A hidden connection is stronger than an obvious one." - Heraclitus of Ephesus

There are hidden connections that exist between humans from all over the world. When I think about how we are connected with each other in ways we may not realize, I think of the popular game called, Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon. The game rests on an assumption that any person can be linked through his or her life to actor Kevin Bacon.

It became so widely played, the actor himself started a charitable organization called Six Degrees. Mr. Bacon's organization takes the premise that everyone is connected by roughly six connections, and turns that networking capability into something powerful and quite useful.

When you stop and think about how you are connected to others, we can usually trace it to three or four people fairly easily. It is those further connections which are hidden, and even if hidden we are still connected.

Connection to one another is important in our lives. Zig Ziglar says that “you can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.”

But how do you know what they want?

By connecting and taking the time to get to know them.

People are generally not interested in how much 'you' know until they know how much 'you' care. It is an odd way of looking it but has quite a bit of truth in it. You develop credibility with others when you connect with them and show them you genuinely want to help them.

This does not mean you make a project out of people, but you connect because you actually care. What happens is those hidden connections get revealed. The separation that once existed is now closed and people's lives are impacted.

When you make a move to connect, the connections begin to vibrate throughout your sphere of influence.

The hidden connections are revealed and lives are touched.

Stay inspired my friends.