The Power Of Positive Thinking

Many years ago when I was a teenager I read Norman Vincent Peale “Success Through The Power Of Positive Thinking” (An edited version of that book was later published with the shorter title “The Power Of Positive Thinking“).

At the age of eighteen the concept of rejecting negative thoughts and replacing them with positive thoughts was new to me.

It is not always easy to guard against the waves of negativity that threaten to engulf us in our daily lives. Large doses of negativity is delivered daily through the news and entertainment media channels. Many people live their lives full of dread, the source of which most cannot quite put their fingers on. As a society we are overrun with negativity. That negativity has become our first impulse and our ingrained perception of the world.

Good news though, it is reversible.

I learned from Norman Vincent Peale’s book that positivity attracts positivity and rejects negativity. I also began to understand that my perception was the basis for my experiences. A simple concept indeed but an important one.

When you suddenly realise that you are in control of how you act in a situation you become empowered to choose the negative or the positive. You no longer REACT without thinking. You now ACT deliberately.

Whether you like it or not, ‘you’re the boss apple sauce’.

So how do you go about clearing the negativity out of your thinking? How do you draw the positive to yourself?

Draw The Positive

I’m going to recommend an exercise because combating negativity takes ACTION.

Follow the steps listed below:

• Switch off your television for a month.
• Stop reading newspapers for a month.
• Don’t listen to the radio for a month.
• Avoid negative chat for a month.
• Avoid negative people for a month.
• Cut out the noise for a month.
• When you hear yourself moaning or talking negative stop yourself and say something positive instead.
• When you think negative thoughts replace them with positive thoughts.

Follow those instructions for a month with no exceptions. I don’t care if the final episode of ‘Lost’ is on or you love the Sunday jazz show on your favourite radio station. You need to focus your thoughts on positivity to become fully aware of your thoughts.

Leave a comment and let us know if you’re going to do this exercise, and how you get on.

Good luck.

Thoughts Become Things

This is impressive stuff and well worth a watch. The Secret is YOURS.

Have happiness, health and wealth.
Be what you want to be.
What do you REALLY want?

Learn how to apply The Secret and change your life for the better!

Start Right Now!

I’d love some comment on this.

Claim Your Wealth With The Secret Riches Visualization Tool

Many people struggle to earn or manage their money. The Secret Riches Visualization Tool is intended to help you to draw riches to you effortlessly. Riches can be money, health, peace of mind…whatever you wish.

Here’s what the makers of the video say,

“To claim your wealth using The Secret, The Secret Team has created a powerful visualization tool to help you attract riches into your life.

The Secret to Riches tool will powerfully focus your mind on riches. It has been intentionally created so you will receive the maximum benefits through the law of attraction.

To experience the full power of The Secret to Riches, be sure to read every word and feel it as much as you can.

Believe and know that riches are yours, and feel the feelings of having them now. The more you can feel it, the more power you will add to bring it to you.“

If you know someone who will benefit from this video send them a link to this page.

This is an interesting article on motivation and asking yourself or your life coaching clients the right questions to spark action. Enjoy.

Who In Your Life Is Asking You the Questions to Get You Ready?

By Leslie G. Ungar

At the 2008 Oscars, boring as they were, there was one interesting acceptance speech. Brad Bird, winning for Best Animated Film, thanked his middle school guidance counselor.

He then recited what sounded like a frequent dialogue between this 13 year-old and his frustrated counsellor:

1. What do you want to do? “Make movies.”
2. What if you can’t do it? “I’ll figure out how to make movies.”
3. What if there weren’t movies? “I’ll make movies.”
4. What if you couldn’t do it? “I’ll figure out how to make movies!”

He credited his skeptic advisor with preparing him for cynical Hollywood. What he meant was that his middle school guidance counselor helped “get him ready” through his probing questions.

Who in your life is getting you ready?

The flip side of this question is, whom in your life are you getting ready?

When you were younger, you likely head a parent, aunt, coach, or guidance counselor who asked you questions about your future. It started when you were five: what are you going to do when you grow up?

For Bernett Williams, CEO and Executive Director of the Akron Urban League, it was her Aunt Bobbie who asked the questions to get her ready. Every Saturday Aunt Bobbie drove her young niece to every Goodwill store and every rummage sale every Saturday’s newspaper announced. Bernett figured out at a young age that her aunt was teaching her how to count change.

What she didn’t realize until adulthood, was that her aunt was teaching her how to plan her life. It wasn’t the questions that Aunt Bobbie asked that were so important. It was that the questions forced a young Bernett to start thinking. For with every answer, Bernett found another question lurking in the front seat. Aunt Bobbie was the eternal questioner, coaxing her young protégé to look at issues from every angle and a larger lens.

As you progressed from elementary school to middle school, the questions progressed too: where are you going to college? What’s your major going to be?

As you matured to high school the questions matured also: what grades do you need to get into that college? What schools have that major?

In college the questions often emanated from an advisor: what if you don’t get into that program? What if you have to re-locate? What if you don’t like it?

And then you graduate and morph into the workplace. Now who asks you questions that get you ready?

You are ascending up the corporate ladder. Who is asking you questions that get you ready?

It’s likely that no one is asking you because “they” think you already know. And you think you are supposed to know. You may have even stopped asking yourself questions.

That vacuum of curiosity is a detriment to you and your company, firm, or team. You benefit from an external, objective source to ask you questions from a different perspective. You may be able to be the objective source for others on your team or in your company. That may be enough.

But it’s challenging for an internal source to provide an objective perspective. Just as it was a challenge for your parents to challenge you as a teen-ager. It’s a challenge for you to provide objectivity within your company.

Those in the middle of a challenge focus on the process. They tend to spin within the world of “how” rather than concentrate on the world of “what”. An external source provides a faster road out of process to the solution. Everyone benefits from the question, what is the result you want to accomplish?

Be or find an objective source to ask you questions that get you ready. Don’t be reluctant to go to an outside source. You may think someone outside of your industry does not understand. GOOD. Select someone who does not drink the same Cool-Aid, someone who will think differently. Remember, your client, customer, patient, guest, or member does not think the way you think. You need to think the way they think.

There will come a time when you not only benefit from someone asking you questions, you can benefit someone else by asking questions.

Silently, you will pass from beneficiary of questions asked to the one who asks questions of others. Who are you helping to get ready?

Your torch of knowledge can be passed to others by the asking of questions. The quality of your work and your life will be improved when you find someone who asks you questions to “get you ready”.

You will be both personally and professionally enriched when you become the objective, external source helping someone else get ready for their challenge, their life . . . and indirectly your satisfaction.

The Oscar belonged to Brad Bird. What about the guidance counselor who asked the questions to help get the once thirteen-year old middle school boy ready? You can bet he shared the glory.

Living Your Authentic Values - A Life Coaching Success Story

By Jane Drucker, Ph.D

Have you ever felt that your life is a juggling act?

Maybe you’re trying to live up to expectations that aren’t AUTHENTIC to who YOU are.

According to Cecile Andrews, author of ‘The Circle of Simplicity’, “People in this culture aren’t having fun”. I’ve certainly seen this phenomenon in my life coaching practice and in my own life. We too often look for quantity rather than quality…and in the process, we have evolved into a society that doesn’t know how to slow down and LIVE.

When you wake up in the morning, do you smile and hum a happy tune? Or do you wonder how in the world you’re going to get everything done that should get done today? Does life feel like an exciting adventure, or do you dream of a magical “someday” when your real life will begin, and you’ll finally be able to do the things you love?

What I do is help people create a life that really matters. Let me share a client’s story with you (all names and identifying details have been altered to protect his privacy). Steven had been an accountant since he got his MBA in 1978. He always worked hard and became the youngest member of his firm ever to make partner. Steven is also a father and an avid pianist and bass player. In his heart, he would much rather spend his time chauffeuring his two pre-teen boys to their activities and making music than preparing tax returns. When I asked Steven how he spends his free time, he just laughed and said, “I don’t even remember what free time is any more! Doc, I’m successful, but I’m just not happy.”

It was clearly time to make a change. I asked Steven to make a long list of what was important to him. He took a week to work on this list. I also had Steven write a mock acceptance speech for an award that would be bestowed upon him IF HE WERE LIVING IN HARMONY WITH HIS CORE VALUES. Although his job as an accountant was on his list of important accomplishments, Steven placed this well towards the end of his speech.

Steven’s top two values turned out to be spending time with his family and contributing to his community. He was actually surprised when he found himself musing about going to church with his wife Liz and the boys. With two young children to educate, money was important, but it didn’t rank as highly as he had assumed it would.

Steven asked Liz to make a list of her core values too. The two of them then sat down with their lists and had a series of serious conversations in which they decided together that outside of tax season, Steven would cut his work week back to just enough time for him to keep his benefits. They also decided that the boys were old enough for Liz to take a part time job. She had been a successful math teacher after college and decided to consult with their local middle school to tutor gifted students in math and science. Her pay would make up enough of Steven’s loss in salary for the family to continue to pay bills and put a little money into a college fund for the boys each month. The family committed to going to church together at least once a month. They also chose as a family to devote a couple of hours a month to visiting a local retirement home, where Steven plays the piano for the residents while Liz and the boys visit. To save on food expenses, Steven and Liz now enjoy their new hobby…cooking gourmet food at home…rather than going out to eat as often as they once did, and the boys pitch in with chores so the family can save some money by not hiring a weekly housekeeper and gardener.

The full transition took about two years, but both Steven and Liz agree that, despite having less money, they are much happier. They have also noticed that the boys, now ages eleven and fourteen, are doing better in school, have become much more eager to help out at home, and enjoy doing community service projects.

Here is a Coaching exercise that you can do to explore YOUR AUTHENTIC core values. Take stock of your life. Set aside some time (about fifteen minutes should do), and write down ten things that you value. Examples may be: challenging work, family, friends, nature, money, etc. When your list is done, put a number from 1 to 10 next to each item to rank each one in importance to you. Next, put down a number from 1 to 100 next to each item to show what percentage of your time is devoted to each one. Are you allotting your time in a way you really value? What would it mean for you to live in accordance with your authentic core values?

More and more often, people are recognizing that their merry-go-round lifestyle is out of sync with who they really are inside. You can join this revolution today if you’re ready to be authentic.

Introduction to Life Coaching part 3 with Chris Wesley

UK Life Coach Chris Wesley talks about techniques and tools he uses that are specifically tailored to each client. He explains his down to earth and fun approach to life coaching.

You are in control.

Introduction to Life Coaching with Chris Wesley

In this life coaching video, the second in a series of three, Life Coach Chris Wesley talks about teaching a client that her wishes are valid and she did not have to take second place to her husband or son. Chris talks about changing the patterns of embedded thinking.

He also discusses a life coach’s roll in helping maintaining positive attitude and energy so that clients can realise their goals.

There’s plenty more useful information for people considering a career in life coaching, check out the video. Enjoy.

Introduction to Life Coaching part 1 with Chris Wesley

This is the first in three videos by UK life coach Chris Wesley. In this video Chris introduces us to life coaching and why it can be of benefit to people.

Chris answers these important questions about life coaching:

1. What is life coaching all about?
2. …and why would you seek life coaching?

This is a useful resource for those considering a career in life coaching and also for those who are thinking of working with a life coach to help them realise their goals. Enjoy.

Real Life Coaching in Action With Chris Wesley

Chris Wesley is a UK based life coach. In this video he goes through some of the steps he takes when working with a life coaching client. You may find some of his techniques useful. Perhaps you use some of them already in your practice?

Is this the approach you take to life coaching or do you do something different?

Why not share your life coaching tips with our readers?

Enjoy Chris’ real life coaching in action video

Believe in Yourself!

Inspirational and motivational quotations and ideas to live your life by. Here are just a few of the motivational quotations taken from the following video:

• Don’t let what you can’t do stop you from doing what you can do.
• Don’t wait for the change, be the change.
• Remember your success not your failures.
• Failures are the foundation for success.
• Failures are the bridges to success.
• Don’t worry about the future, enjoy the present…

There’s plenty more inspirational quotes for i and your clients in the video. Enjoy and have a great day!