Posts
I'm sure some of you have started your vision boards and I know a few of you are still finishing up your vision statements and that is fine, get them to me when ever you can (tonya.therightdirection@gmail.com). My dilemma is figuring out which way to turn next. I have so much important stuff to tell you and it is all equally important. On this journey I have been studying both the "law of attraction" and the "art of positive living". Although they are interwoven the law of attraction is based on a much more metaphysical level and some people find it hard to understand. I think it is important to have the fundamentals down first before we venture to far out into the "science" part of it.
I'm sure you have gotten an idea of how much I like Jim Rohn ( http://www.jimrohn.com?kbid=9487 ). He is a true master of his craft. In my opinion he is even better than Zig Ziglar. Even the most well respected teachers of the "law of attraction" reference Jim Rohn on a regular basis. His teachings are the timeless fundamentals that everybody needs to have in their back pocket. They really need to start teaching some of his lessons in schools.
For this reason, I will be focusing the next few topics of discussion on Jim Rohn. This will give everybody time to catch up and get their vision statements & vision boards completed. We are going to start with one of my favorite books that Jim Rohn has written; "The Five Major Pieces to the Life Puzzle". If you are interested in following along in your own copy of the book you can follow the link to his website, go to the "directory" on the left side of the page and click on "Jim Rohn's online catalog", then scroll about half way down the page until you see the book. It is currently on sale for $9 (paperback), I think I paid $12.95 for my copy so that's a pretty good deal. I also noticed that "Twelve Pillars" is on sale for $9 (paperback). We will eventually be discussing it as well. If you are thinking about following along in your own book you may want to pick up both and save on shipping.
Jim Rohn says that truly wealthy people always have a library in their house. In order to become wealthy you need to start thinking and acting wealthy. He suggests clearing out a space in your closet or buying a small book shelf and starting your library one book at a time.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Quote
"Your ambition is an expression of who you truly are, your own self-expression."
~Jim Rohn~
I am excited to see we have a few new followers who are willing to participate. I think it is great! Keep passing the word around, the more the merrier! Welcome Mia & Steve.
I have a teleconference today at 2pm and will be back later tonight to share what I have learned.
~Jim Rohn~
I am excited to see we have a few new followers who are willing to participate. I think it is great! Keep passing the word around, the more the merrier! Welcome Mia & Steve.
I have a teleconference today at 2pm and will be back later tonight to share what I have learned.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Some Ideas
I'm sure most of you have a nice sized list of things you want on your vision boards. I'm going to briefly review some of the items we have put on our board to help spark some more ideas for you. I think it is important to remember that there are no limits, these are things you want. Remember not to limit yourself to what you think you should want or what you think you can have at this moment. It is also important to remember that everything that you want is not material, ie love, health, family, wisdom, joy, & happiness to name a few.
Powerful words like these are the true motivators in life. Sure a new car or a fancy watch may motivate you for a while, but trust me when I say that motivation driven only by material possessions will soon fizzle out. You need to find somethings that are heartfelt. I'm going to say it again at the risk of sounding redundant, but you need these things to spark emotions or a burning desire. Get yourself a good foundation, something stable that wont change with the seasons. It is probably safe to say that your family, your health, and happiness are good starters. Chances are when the next new trend in fashion comes in the value you put on your family, your health, and your happiness will not be effected. This is what I mean by a good foundation, something that your will always want regardless of circumstances, something that comes from the soul. I don't want you to put time and effort into creating a vision board only to feel uninspired by it in 6 months when the trends have changed.
Once you have your foundation laid you can start adding the "pretties". By "pretties" I mean the things that will make your life more comfortable and fun. Like the car, the jewelry, the shoes, the furniture, the vacations, ect...
My favorite thing on our vision board is the family picture. We have it centered on the top. Then we have our favorite words that I mentioned last night placed on each side. It is kind of like a banner heading.
The next things we have are a few quotes; "All that we are is a product of what we have thought" by Buddha and "all power is from within" from a source I can not remember, I think I got it from The Secret. These quotes are powerful and timeless. They reinforce the power of the vision board and the vision statement. And they help redirect our energy when we are feeling unfocused and tired.
The next most important things we have on our board are the symbols we have picked to depict our health. Since we feel that the body is the outward expression of our inner health, we found pictures of a male and a female that symbolize good health. In order to have these bodies we must be in outstanding health. A friend actually suggested that we attach our own heads to the pictures, since we have cut off the original head only to display the bodies from the shoulders down. This is a great idea and I plan to do it. It is easier to visualize yourself with a certain body when you see your head sitting on its shoulders.
The 4th most important thing on our vision board is the floor plans for our home renovations that I actually drew myself. Like writing a vision statement, the hardest part was drawing the first couple lines, then the rest just kind of flowed. This took time and careful planning. We figured out what we loved about our house and what changes were needed. We also visited many model homes to get design ideas. I have heard and read that ideas and visions drawn out by yourself are more powerful than things that have been cut and pasted. I think there is some merit in this thought. We had initially had a picture brochure of floor plans of a house that we liked, but it just wasn't cutting it for me. When I looked at the brochure I had a hard time remembering what I had seen. Eventually I forgot what the house even looked like and became uninspired by the brochure all together. That is when I decided to grab the paper, pencil, and ruler and go to work. I tell you what, the image of our revised floor plans are so vivid in my mind that I can see them without looking. I can actually just walk through our house in it's current state and visualize the way it will be.
Finally, the rest of our board is filled with our goal list for the year of 2008 and numerous pictures of items we want, the "pretties" as I called them previously. There's a few pictures of some Tiffany jewelery, some furniture, a couple cars, a swimming pool, and so on. These add some color and excitement and they can be easily changed when and if our preferences change.
I hope this post will help all of you create a powerful, meaningful, and inspiring vision board. Please feel free to discuss your ideas and questions in the comment section at the bottom of this post.
Powerful words like these are the true motivators in life. Sure a new car or a fancy watch may motivate you for a while, but trust me when I say that motivation driven only by material possessions will soon fizzle out. You need to find somethings that are heartfelt. I'm going to say it again at the risk of sounding redundant, but you need these things to spark emotions or a burning desire. Get yourself a good foundation, something stable that wont change with the seasons. It is probably safe to say that your family, your health, and happiness are good starters. Chances are when the next new trend in fashion comes in the value you put on your family, your health, and your happiness will not be effected. This is what I mean by a good foundation, something that your will always want regardless of circumstances, something that comes from the soul. I don't want you to put time and effort into creating a vision board only to feel uninspired by it in 6 months when the trends have changed.
Once you have your foundation laid you can start adding the "pretties". By "pretties" I mean the things that will make your life more comfortable and fun. Like the car, the jewelry, the shoes, the furniture, the vacations, ect...
My favorite thing on our vision board is the family picture. We have it centered on the top. Then we have our favorite words that I mentioned last night placed on each side. It is kind of like a banner heading.
The next things we have are a few quotes; "All that we are is a product of what we have thought" by Buddha and "all power is from within" from a source I can not remember, I think I got it from The Secret. These quotes are powerful and timeless. They reinforce the power of the vision board and the vision statement. And they help redirect our energy when we are feeling unfocused and tired.
The next most important things we have on our board are the symbols we have picked to depict our health. Since we feel that the body is the outward expression of our inner health, we found pictures of a male and a female that symbolize good health. In order to have these bodies we must be in outstanding health. A friend actually suggested that we attach our own heads to the pictures, since we have cut off the original head only to display the bodies from the shoulders down. This is a great idea and I plan to do it. It is easier to visualize yourself with a certain body when you see your head sitting on its shoulders.
The 4th most important thing on our vision board is the floor plans for our home renovations that I actually drew myself. Like writing a vision statement, the hardest part was drawing the first couple lines, then the rest just kind of flowed. This took time and careful planning. We figured out what we loved about our house and what changes were needed. We also visited many model homes to get design ideas. I have heard and read that ideas and visions drawn out by yourself are more powerful than things that have been cut and pasted. I think there is some merit in this thought. We had initially had a picture brochure of floor plans of a house that we liked, but it just wasn't cutting it for me. When I looked at the brochure I had a hard time remembering what I had seen. Eventually I forgot what the house even looked like and became uninspired by the brochure all together. That is when I decided to grab the paper, pencil, and ruler and go to work. I tell you what, the image of our revised floor plans are so vivid in my mind that I can see them without looking. I can actually just walk through our house in it's current state and visualize the way it will be.
Finally, the rest of our board is filled with our goal list for the year of 2008 and numerous pictures of items we want, the "pretties" as I called them previously. There's a few pictures of some Tiffany jewelery, some furniture, a couple cars, a swimming pool, and so on. These add some color and excitement and they can be easily changed when and if our preferences change.
I hope this post will help all of you create a powerful, meaningful, and inspiring vision board. Please feel free to discuss your ideas and questions in the comment section at the bottom of this post.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
The Next Step; Vision Boards
Okay, so I think I have given you guys enough time to get your vision statements down on paper. It is probably safe to say that about 3% of you actually did the exercise. Remember the 3% club? Now it is time to move on to the next level.
Topic of Discussion: VISION BOARDS
By now most of you have probably heard the term before. They are also sometimes referred to as a dream boards. I prefer the term vision board because it is a visualization tool used to focus your mental energy to attract people and circumstances into your life to create peace, harmony, and happiness.
The creation of a vision board should be done when you are feeling high spirited, happy, grateful, and joyous. Sit down and create a list of all the things you have already in your life that make you happy. This will put you in the right frame of mind for creating a powerful vision board. Then make a list of all the things you would like to have, do, and feel. It is important for these things to be what you want, not what you think you should want. Be honest with yourself and find the things that will drive your emotions. Remember emotions = motion. I suggest reading over your vision statement a few times to get some ideas.
Next, you'll need to find pictures to represent your wants. You can go through magazines. You can browse the internet. You can take photos with your camera. Or you can draw the pictures yourself. It doesn't matter where you get the pictures from as long as they symbolize to you exactly what you want. I suggest using a few family photos and a few key words that are meaningful. For instance, on our vision board we have the words family, love, teamwork, happy, grateful, healthy, and prosperous in bold colors. We also have a family picture taken recently at my brother's wedding.
Once you have gathered your pictures you will need something to attach them to. You can buy poster board and glue or you can buy a cork board and pushpins or you can even use a piece of cardboard and tape. It doesn't matter so much what you put them on as it does how you feel about them. Again, your feelings are everything.
Arrange your pictures on your board in a way that is inviting to your eyes. Before you start adhering the pics make sure you step back and take a look, you may even want to step away for a few minutes and do something else. When you come back to your board you want it to provoke feelings of happiness and excitement. If you don't get these feels when looking at your creation, I suggest rearranging your pictures in a more inviting way or finding some new pictures that will get your emotions going. Once you have accomplished this, go ahead and adhere them.
Placement of your vision board is key. You want to strategically place it on a wall at eye level, so it's easy to see. You also want it in a place where you will see it numerous times everyday. Perhaps your bedroom, your office, or maybe the family room. We have ours in our bedroom on the wall between the bathroom and our closet. We see it every time we walk into our bedroom and it is actually the first thing we see when we wake up and walk into the bathroom.
Now that you have your vision board created and strategically placed in your home or office you should use it in conjunction with your vision statement. Look at it everyday and imagine living the life you have created. Let it be the first thing you see in the morning and the last thing you look at before going to bed. This along with reading your vision statement is a sure fired way to lead your life in the right direction for health, wealth, and happiness.
Topic of Discussion: VISION BOARDS
By now most of you have probably heard the term before. They are also sometimes referred to as a dream boards. I prefer the term vision board because it is a visualization tool used to focus your mental energy to attract people and circumstances into your life to create peace, harmony, and happiness.
The creation of a vision board should be done when you are feeling high spirited, happy, grateful, and joyous. Sit down and create a list of all the things you have already in your life that make you happy. This will put you in the right frame of mind for creating a powerful vision board. Then make a list of all the things you would like to have, do, and feel. It is important for these things to be what you want, not what you think you should want. Be honest with yourself and find the things that will drive your emotions. Remember emotions = motion. I suggest reading over your vision statement a few times to get some ideas.
Next, you'll need to find pictures to represent your wants. You can go through magazines. You can browse the internet. You can take photos with your camera. Or you can draw the pictures yourself. It doesn't matter where you get the pictures from as long as they symbolize to you exactly what you want. I suggest using a few family photos and a few key words that are meaningful. For instance, on our vision board we have the words family, love, teamwork, happy, grateful, healthy, and prosperous in bold colors. We also have a family picture taken recently at my brother's wedding.
Once you have gathered your pictures you will need something to attach them to. You can buy poster board and glue or you can buy a cork board and pushpins or you can even use a piece of cardboard and tape. It doesn't matter so much what you put them on as it does how you feel about them. Again, your feelings are everything.
Arrange your pictures on your board in a way that is inviting to your eyes. Before you start adhering the pics make sure you step back and take a look, you may even want to step away for a few minutes and do something else. When you come back to your board you want it to provoke feelings of happiness and excitement. If you don't get these feels when looking at your creation, I suggest rearranging your pictures in a more inviting way or finding some new pictures that will get your emotions going. Once you have accomplished this, go ahead and adhere them.
Placement of your vision board is key. You want to strategically place it on a wall at eye level, so it's easy to see. You also want it in a place where you will see it numerous times everyday. Perhaps your bedroom, your office, or maybe the family room. We have ours in our bedroom on the wall between the bathroom and our closet. We see it every time we walk into our bedroom and it is actually the first thing we see when we wake up and walk into the bathroom.
Now that you have your vision board created and strategically placed in your home or office you should use it in conjunction with your vision statement. Look at it everyday and imagine living the life you have created. Let it be the first thing you see in the morning and the last thing you look at before going to bed. This along with reading your vision statement is a sure fired way to lead your life in the right direction for health, wealth, and happiness.
~~~EMOTIONS & FEELINGS=MOTIONS & RESULTS=WHAT YOU WANT~~~
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Are You A Good Listener?
I came across another interesting point in this book that I'm reading. David J. Schwartz, Ph.D. states that after he performed hundreds of interviews with people at all levels he discovered that "The bigger the person, the more apt he is to encourage you to talk; the smaller the person, the more apt he is to preach to you". He goes on to say "Big people monopolize the listening." and "Small people monopolize the talking."
When I read these words I had another light bulb moment. I have worked in a large family owned optometry office for 12 years. The original owner, whom is now 10 months into his retirement, was always one for asking questions. There have been numerous times when he has asked my opinion on a business decision. He would ask the question, wait for the answer, and then ask "why?" or "what about.....". I always wondered why he was asking me. He has always been known as the "go to" guy when somebody had a business question or if they were looking for guidance when opening a new practice. I know of people calling on him from Lake City, Jacksonville, Ft Lauderdale, and even Tampa. This man is a true master of his craft, running successful optometry practices. It helps that he is a good doctor too, but I think his true passion is business. I bet if I asked him what he thought of Schwartz's theory that "Big people monopolize the listening" without a doubt he would agree fully.
It seems as though the truly successful are more willing to listen to others. They take the ideas generated by other people and cultivate them into their own. Schwartz later says that the "Ideas of others help to spark your own ideas so your mind is more creative".
This proves another point. Successful people are always willing to learn more. While the less successful are the ones who think they already know all there is to know. We've all met someone who seems to know everything about anything. We listen while they talk for a while and soon our brains start humming as we are put into a trance by all their "preaching". Lets all make an effort not to be "that" person. Lets remember to ask questions and actually listen to the answers. We can then take those answers and come up with our own creative ideas. This will turn us in the right direction for happy successful lives.
When I read these words I had another light bulb moment. I have worked in a large family owned optometry office for 12 years. The original owner, whom is now 10 months into his retirement, was always one for asking questions. There have been numerous times when he has asked my opinion on a business decision. He would ask the question, wait for the answer, and then ask "why?" or "what about.....". I always wondered why he was asking me. He has always been known as the "go to" guy when somebody had a business question or if they were looking for guidance when opening a new practice. I know of people calling on him from Lake City, Jacksonville, Ft Lauderdale, and even Tampa. This man is a true master of his craft, running successful optometry practices. It helps that he is a good doctor too, but I think his true passion is business. I bet if I asked him what he thought of Schwartz's theory that "Big people monopolize the listening" without a doubt he would agree fully.
It seems as though the truly successful are more willing to listen to others. They take the ideas generated by other people and cultivate them into their own. Schwartz later says that the "Ideas of others help to spark your own ideas so your mind is more creative".
This proves another point. Successful people are always willing to learn more. While the less successful are the ones who think they already know all there is to know. We've all met someone who seems to know everything about anything. We listen while they talk for a while and soon our brains start humming as we are put into a trance by all their "preaching". Lets all make an effort not to be "that" person. Lets remember to ask questions and actually listen to the answers. We can then take those answers and come up with our own creative ideas. This will turn us in the right direction for happy successful lives.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Jim Rohn
If anyone is interested in Jim Rohn I will provide you with a link to his website. He offers a free E-zine (news letter) that I recommend you sign up for. He also offers many special deals on his books and CD programs. I love this guy, he is a true master. Check him out and at least get the free news letter.
http://www.jimrohn.com?kbid=9487
http://www.jimrohn.com?kbid=9487
Why is This Stuff Important?
It is only natural to get opposition from people who don't understand what personal development is. Just the words personal development sound like you are admitting something is "wrong" with yourself. Most people are unwilling to do that. Heck, most people are unwilling to take the blame for leaving the cap off the toothpaste! The mere fact that you are here right now reading this post puts you in the 3% club. The 3% club is actually a very exclusive club, studies show that only 3% of the world's population make a serious study of themselves and success. Sounds crazy doesn't it? That gives us an advantage over 97% of the people on the whole earth.
One of my favorite authors, Jim Rohn, has a quote that I absolutely love. He says you need to learn to "Work harder on yourself than you do on your job." Then he follows it with "If you work hard on your job you'll make a living. If you work hard on yourself you'll make a fortune!" How about that? "If you work hard on yourself you'll make a fortune!" What if it was that easy. Those words alone have been the fuel for my fire. When I get tired I just think back to those words and realize it is all worth it.
Anybody who knows me will tell you I have always been the one with high expectations for myself and everyone around me. For a long time these high expectations were a source of aggravation for me. I had all these big plans and wasn't sure how I was going to get them all done. When the people around me seemed uninspired and happy with their "normal" life, that aggravated me to. I had places to go and things to do and was definitely unhappy sitting on the couch watching tv. Mediocrity is for the lazy and uninspired.
The human mind and body are marvelous things, but they do not come with owner's manuals. You have to reach out into the world and find the bits and pieces of information yourself and put together your own owner's manual. Once I started this quest, I became somewhat addicted. I kept hearing those words; "Work harder on yourself than you do on your job. If you work hard on job you'll make a living, if you work hard on yourself you'll make a fortune". I still take those words to heart. Everyday I am reading more and more. Every time I go on amazon.com I check out with a new pile of reading material. My mp3 player no longer has music on it. When I am at the gym I am listening to an audio that I have downloaded. When I am in the car everyone in the car with me is listening to one of my personal development Cd's. I am sure there will be a day when the kids protest and want to listen to music, but until then they are subconsciously getting this positive stuff ingrained in their minds.
Some may say "How can you spend so much time on yourself? Isn't that a little selfish?" I am hear to tell you "no". What better gift can you give the important people in your life than the gift of a happy, healthy, successful and positive friend and family member. If your not filling yourself with the positive chances are you'll be filling yourself with the negative. So it should be a no brainer. People learn new stuff everyday. So instead of learning the lyrics to the newest song on the radio why don't you take that drive time and learn something positive.
The best part about personal development, the law of attraction, and the art of positive living is there is enough goodness to go around. There is no limit on the supply of goodness available to us. There is no reason to keep this information horded in our own minds. We need to share it with everyone we know. Think about it, the more people that study this stuff the more positive energy there will be flowing around. How could more happiness in the world be bad? I say "the more the merrier", if you know anybody who could benefit from this information go ahead and give them the link. There is no secret handshake for the 3% club, you just need to be willing to put a little effort into grooming yourself into a more positive person.
I will not be happy until this forum serves as a spot for thousands of people to come and share their thoughts everyday. Think about how great it would be if everybody in your family followed this blog. Think of all the new positive conversations you could have. And what if every single one of them wrote their vision statements and read them everyday. You could watch their lives transform as yours does. We can all grow successful and wealthy together. That is my goal. TRUE WEALTH AND HAPPINESS FOR MYSELF, MY FAMILY, MY FRIENDS AND EVERYONE AROUND ME. Make it your goal too and we will work together to steer this ship in the right direction.
One of my favorite authors, Jim Rohn, has a quote that I absolutely love. He says you need to learn to "Work harder on yourself than you do on your job." Then he follows it with "If you work hard on your job you'll make a living. If you work hard on yourself you'll make a fortune!" How about that? "If you work hard on yourself you'll make a fortune!" What if it was that easy. Those words alone have been the fuel for my fire. When I get tired I just think back to those words and realize it is all worth it.
Anybody who knows me will tell you I have always been the one with high expectations for myself and everyone around me. For a long time these high expectations were a source of aggravation for me. I had all these big plans and wasn't sure how I was going to get them all done. When the people around me seemed uninspired and happy with their "normal" life, that aggravated me to. I had places to go and things to do and was definitely unhappy sitting on the couch watching tv. Mediocrity is for the lazy and uninspired.
The human mind and body are marvelous things, but they do not come with owner's manuals. You have to reach out into the world and find the bits and pieces of information yourself and put together your own owner's manual. Once I started this quest, I became somewhat addicted. I kept hearing those words; "Work harder on yourself than you do on your job. If you work hard on job you'll make a living, if you work hard on yourself you'll make a fortune". I still take those words to heart. Everyday I am reading more and more. Every time I go on amazon.com I check out with a new pile of reading material. My mp3 player no longer has music on it. When I am at the gym I am listening to an audio that I have downloaded. When I am in the car everyone in the car with me is listening to one of my personal development Cd's. I am sure there will be a day when the kids protest and want to listen to music, but until then they are subconsciously getting this positive stuff ingrained in their minds.
Some may say "How can you spend so much time on yourself? Isn't that a little selfish?" I am hear to tell you "no". What better gift can you give the important people in your life than the gift of a happy, healthy, successful and positive friend and family member. If your not filling yourself with the positive chances are you'll be filling yourself with the negative. So it should be a no brainer. People learn new stuff everyday. So instead of learning the lyrics to the newest song on the radio why don't you take that drive time and learn something positive.
The best part about personal development, the law of attraction, and the art of positive living is there is enough goodness to go around. There is no limit on the supply of goodness available to us. There is no reason to keep this information horded in our own minds. We need to share it with everyone we know. Think about it, the more people that study this stuff the more positive energy there will be flowing around. How could more happiness in the world be bad? I say "the more the merrier", if you know anybody who could benefit from this information go ahead and give them the link. There is no secret handshake for the 3% club, you just need to be willing to put a little effort into grooming yourself into a more positive person.
I will not be happy until this forum serves as a spot for thousands of people to come and share their thoughts everyday. Think about how great it would be if everybody in your family followed this blog. Think of all the new positive conversations you could have. And what if every single one of them wrote their vision statements and read them everyday. You could watch their lives transform as yours does. We can all grow successful and wealthy together. That is my goal. TRUE WEALTH AND HAPPINESS FOR MYSELF, MY FAMILY, MY FRIENDS AND EVERYONE AROUND ME. Make it your goal too and we will work together to steer this ship in the right direction.
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