Message From the Universe: Wealth Is Knocking on Your Door

"You see, there is a choice for all who aspire to live in abundance that only the wisest ever perceive.

You can visualize a life in which you possess fabulous wealth.

Or... You can visualize a life in which you are creatively fulfilled, with fantastic work, dancing in the marketplace... and you possess fabulous wealth.

Do you see the oh-so-subtle difference?

I see you as the dancing sort,

The Universe"

No matter which way you look at it, the bottom result is based on your positive thoughts. If you think positively, you will see great changes in your life and appreciate how fortunate you are to have all your dreams come true. The opposite is also true so why go there? You have to enjoy what you are doing as well, regardless of the money you make. I have heard of many stock brokers making 2 to 5 million dollars yearly jumping off the Brooklyn bridge because of possible stress or lack of happiness. Whatever their reasons, they made a decision to terminate their lives. Happiness is not defined by the money you have in your bank account of the assets you possess, but primarily with how you use these tools to make someone else's life easy. You are lucky enough to be self-motivated, determined, eager to succeed, a go-getter, and whatever other attributes you possess that brought you where you are today. Not many have these skills so be proud of them. So if you enjoy what you do on a daily basis, you will wake up every morning and be grateful for all these opportunities you have been presented with. Life is about enjoying every moments you have on earth and not take these moments for granted as you do not know how long they will last.

Visualizing your path to success is crucial to get the ball rolling in the direction you anticipated when you first started. Just look at the beginning of this journey as the Big Bang when the Universe you see today started as a single point of singularity and exploded to create the billion of galaxies we see today. As the Universe is constantly expanding due to the dark energy in space, we can compare this to your level of motivation that keeps you moving forward regardless of the many set backs you will endure in your journey to ultimate success. Everything will stop when YOU decide to stop. But is this what you really want? Do you want to abandon your journey to ultimate success? The answer to these questions is really up to you. You can decide which way you want to go but as long as you are willing to accept the outcome of your decision, no matter which decision you take will be a step forward to helping you become a better person today, tomorrow and the rest of your life.

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How to Turn Life's Lemons Into Lemonade

This article is a shift in terms of focus. Although relevant for the fields of business development and growth, the theme of this article is on personal development before business development.

I've always been a huge fan of sales gurus and personal growth experts like Zig Ziglar, Earl Nightingale, Norman Vincent Peale, Dale Carnegie, etc. While initially thinking these guys were full of 'it' and irrelevant; now, with time and experience having matured me to a reasonable level (I hope), I've come to not only attest to truths that these guys and others live by and teach, but also their beliefs and wisdom are very relevant and timeless.

One of the core truths taught and deeply ingrained into my subconscious is the following: failures in life will either strengthen and motivate you to grow and develop or they have the very real ability to break you down.

What do I mean when I say failures in life? Well, quite simply, these are the moments in our lives that the results and outcomes come totally different and often more severe than we had anticipated. Whether it's a job loss, divorce, eviction, bankruptcy, failed job interview, a blown investment, or being defrauded by someone, we all face these challenges at one time in life or another.

The key that I've learned about these negative life events is that you have A CHOICE in how you respond. The thing that keeps most of us in 'ruts' of negativity, isolation, and hopelessness is that we allow ourselves to be motivated by fear in a wrong way. Rather than thinking about how worse and severe a negative life event can become, why not choose to be motivated by the fear of the situation to take hold of hope. Choose to take a strong hold of hope and never let go no matter how bad it hurts or feels.

Now here's another underlying truth in being motivated by the fear of negative life events: don't labor your mind or put a heavy burden on yourself for solving your problems overnight; instead, relax, rest, and remain positive. What I've learned and continue to grow in is that more than likely the answer needed to resolve the problem(s) is right under your nose or floating somewhere in your mind. How do these 'uh huh' moments happen? Truly in the most odd ways possible to be completely honest. There's no secret formula (or at least one that I've found that works) or secret sauce that induces these moments, but here's one way to put yourself in the state of mind to increasing their frequency: relax, live life, serve others well, listen more than you speak, forgive completely, and love sincerely.

http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Turn-Lifes-Lemons-Into-Lemonade&id=9843781

To Be Successful, Be Prepared To Be Doubted

In truth, to be successful, we have to be prepared to be doubted and often lose before even truly win. Success is a lifelong journey to walk on and ascent. While most of us begin our journey on what seems a smooth road, it quickly changes, bringing us uninvited turns, and unknown ups and downs.

So, how do you keep going? How can you deal with the pain, doubt, and criticism? In what way could you ever cope with failure? Is it worth all the trouble?

Well, if you want to succeed you must be prepared for any eventuality and have the resilience to face the inevitable. To be successful, you always have to take risks, change, adjust and self-develop. It is a pathway of personal growth that teaches you to deal with pain, doubt, and failure. You learn that you have to get up each time and push forward.

In any case, when you want to be successful, just be prepared because you will be doubted and tested beyond reason. An important advice is once you begin following your path, you want to fail as fast as you can because if you do not, those failures may become more costly later on.

But success can be achieved! There are countless of diverse possibilities, and where there is a will, there is a way. The world's most successful people often speak about their journeys. They even share their thoughts on how to realize it, and on how to reach it.

"Learning from the worst of times will prepare you for the best of times." - Billy Cox

The First Lesson to Be Successful

Ask any successful person, and they will tell you that for any significant accomplishment they have made, they had to undergo countless of failures. Failures are a way to know how to progress. They are lessons that lead us to be successful, but many do not always see failure in that way.

Often than not, failing is an undesirable vibe. Yet, failure is indeed essential to be successful at something. Most people never experience such feelings because they fear failure like a disease. But you should embrace failure. Yes, no one says it is easy, but it shows that you at least had the balls to try.

Therefore, when you want something, you must be willing to sacrifice and fail to acquire it. It is not an option you can avoid. When failure happens over and over, it can be very discouraging, but it is also the reason why most accomplished people are mentally strong. They never underestimate failures but rather know that they are the laying groundwork to win later.

Be Prepared to Feel Pain

To be successful, you must travel through a painful journey. You need to agree to take suffering as your traveling companion, because resisting it is futile and generate more difficulties. Feeling pain is an unconditional part if you want to pursue success. Just know that every painful story has the probability of reaching a fruitful conclusion.

Doubt and pressure are inevitable. Both stimulate you to make changes, this way teaching you what you need to reach success. At times, stress can drive you in the right direction. So, see each day as a blessing with brand-new odds and opportunities to continue forward.

Be Prepared to Be Doubted

Now, when you want to be successful, you should always keep your dreams close to you because when you share or talk about them, cynics and critics begin to appear. The reason being is that those people are too scared to pursue their own dreams, so they try to crush yours.

It is the way most human beings are when one is trying to be successful. So, avoid those negative thoughts as they are extremely contagious. A lot of closed-minded people will doubt you, try to scare you and even discourage you from going after your dreams.

Therefore, you need to be immune to these impacts when you are on your quest for to be successful. Work in silence and let your success speak. Just prove these naysayers wrong. You may not succeed the first time around, and it also may not happen for the first five times but do not stop until you do.

"The successful warrior is the average man, with laser-like focus." -Bruce Lee

To Be Successful Is a Choice

To be successful is a choice, and of course, it is all yours to make. Let me remind you that while you walk on your journey to success, you will at times find yourself in a floating or random direction. You then will experience powerful instants of feeling lost and desperate. And it is in these times that you must hold tight and get control of your willpower.

You need to be prepared to battle that tiny voice inside your head when you have to push yourself to keep doing what you do not feel like doing. When things look grim, you may feel like quitting, but it is the fastest way to ruin your chances. When you are on the front lines or in awkward moments, keep at it, rather than quitting. So, when wanting to be successful, you must persevere and rise.

"Don't limit yourself. Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do. You can go as far as your mind lets you. What you believe, you can achieve." -Mary Kay Ash

Be Ready to Doubt Yourself

As you begin on the road to success, you find that you have feelings of being entirely paralyzed at times. The reason is that you doubt yourself. Every so often, you doubt your abilities, knowledge, or choices you have already made. You may even doubt your intuition.

Doubt creates a conflict within you over what choice you have to make to move forward. You should not delay because of thinking you might carry out the wrong decisions. To be successful, you have to push through any doubt you have and not allow it to distract you.

Know that the only wrong choice is not making one. You have the option not to doubt yourself so that you can grow and achieve. Doubts are an unavoidable part of being successful. The crucial part is that you act despite your fears.

"If you really look closely, most overnight successes took a long time." -Steve Jobs

Be Prepared to Lose Relationships

On your path to success, you should realize that some friends, relatives or loved ones will not be willing to support you. Wanting to be successful takes an incredible amount of energy, effort, and sacrifice. So be prepared as most of your relationships will not tolerate it, because they might feel like you owe them more of your time and effort.

All accomplished individuals make tremendous sacrifices to get to where they want to be. They trust that their friends, relatives, and loved ones will be beside while on their journey and support the sacrifices which they have to make.

You have to be prepared to lose relationships with the people who do not avidly share in your dreams. As you go along the road to success, your path will narrow down, and a handful of relations will fall off of it.

Be Willing to Be Hated for No Reason

The truth is that most people do not like successful people. Ordinary people hate the ones who have or do everything they cannot. Envy and jealousy always play along when standing out of the crowd and humbly chasing your dreams.

So, if you want to be successful, be willing to be hated for no reason. Strange as it is, no matter who you are or what you do, there will always be a certain amount of people who will not like you. But success is your biggest revenge. Therefore, learn to let your haters make you even greater.

To Be Successful Is Worth All the Trouble

To achieve anything and be successful, you have to believe in what you are doing. You have to know beyond doubt that you can and will succeed, and you have to trust the process. Anything can be accomplished when the right thoughts and actions are united. Success is worth all the trouble!

"Define success on your own terms, achieve it by your own rules, and build a life you're proud to live." -Anne Sweeney

So, the lesson here is that you need to become stronger from your failures, not weaker. Analyze why you failed. See what is wrong and what is right. Make an evaluation of your skills in the areas needed for you to be successful. Adjust your sails and keep moving forward.

Obstacles, walls, and failures are nothing but other necessary elements for your success. It all starts with you. While you see that to be successful, you have to make sacrifices, keep the focus on your vision and trust in the process; it still all worth it in the end anyway. Tomorrow may never come; so start today.

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On Being Happy As a Choice

For all of us, it is natural to feel sad when someone closest to us passes away, or get angry when someone does wrong to us. But have you ever encountered a person who feels "happy" amidst such situations? I guess it would be me, but we're more than 7 billion here on Earth now, and it's very possible to find even just one who's like that.

American psychiatrist Elizabeth Kubler Ross authored "Stages of Change," a book that discusses on how a person normally deals with his life problems in general. According to the book, there are 5 stages that a person goes through every time a negative change (problem) happens in his life: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance. Taking for example a man's grief over his girlfriend's death due to a crime-related, a sudden situation, say a freaky shooting spree, the "moving on" process goes like this:

DENIAL: "It's not true! She's still alive!"

ANGER: "Why the heck this thing happened? Of all the people, why her? She doesn't deserve this?"

BARGAINING: "If I was just at her side the moment it happened, then I would have saved her."

DEPRESSION: "I should have died with her! I'd rather take my life than live without her!"

ACCEPTANCE: "I know she's not here anymore, so I guess I should get over this and move on."

In some cases, especially the extreme ones, going through the "moving on" stages can take longer periods of time than expected depending on the gravity of the situation itself and/or the impact made to the person involved plus the actions he had taken during the process. Subsequent negative actions usually prolong the process include - but not limited to - habitual drinking, drug abuse, and suicidal attempts, all leading to the person's death if not handled accordingly.

On the other hand, the "moving on" process can also go faster, although skipping the stages in-between Denial and Acceptance is not possible. The faster recovery from negative change depends on how the person handled himself positively in all aspects - physical, emotional, mental, social, and spiritual, among others - and how he understands both the situation itself and this "healing" process (best learned beforehand). People with such abilities adapt the principles of "mind over matter" and "mind over heart."

The human brain actually works in the same fashion as the computer's processor which commands consequent actions to the machine. Thus, the human brain has the power to "tell" everything the person should do including how he should emotionally react on various life situations - a clear opposite to the popular belief that "the heart dictates our emotions." However, the sets of actions that the computer's processor performs can be altered via data manipulation; and so with the human brain via conditioning and acquisition of new knowledge. As mentioned earlier, if the person, at the first place, has accepted the harsh realities of life including the existence of death and suffering, understood the process of "moving on" from negative change, and has the ability to make and maintain a positive outlook out of the various adversities of life, then the person's emotional recovery can go faster, thus his life would go back to normal at an earlier time. Just think of how Miss Philippines quickly stood up from her accidental downfall onstage in her icy-blue frock at the Miss Universe 1999 preliminaries and you'll see what this means.

Yes, it is human nature to feel sad or angry upon the situation's call, but such circumstances don't really tell us to dwell on them forever. Also, it is not the situation that makes us react accordingly but just us ourselves. Sadness and anger, among all other negative feelings, are just options; and having said that, happiness can also be a choice. For the narrowest of minds, being happy amidst negative situations is evil and tantamount to hoping for the worst for other people; but in reality, it is about finding the brighter side of even the worst things in life and looking forward to it with a smile.

http://ezinearticles.com/?On-Being-Happy-As-a-Choice&id=9448074

Make a Choice to Change Yourself

How to Break Through Regrets in Life

Regrets are all too common. Doesn't it seem like they are just a part of life? Like we will always look back on our lives and regret how we lived it, and if we live a life without regrets we're somehow cheating the system?

I was reading an article on Business Insider on the most common regrets in life and I have to say, that was depressing. I had the feeling that the people who weighed in couldn't get past all of the things they had done wrong and there seemed to be a lack of appreciation for their lives.

It's one thing to say, "I wish I had traveled years ago, but I'm so glad I started when I did." But it's completely another to talk about what we missed out on by not traveling sooner or how traveling would have provided something we think we're missing.

There is a simple fact here and one I try to remember whenever I'm looking back on the past: we can't go back and change the past.

Isn't it silly to allow ourselves to miss out on life while we regret the past? If we're not careful, it can become a never-ending cycle. We keep looking back on our past, regretting the chances we didn't take or the mistakes we made all while doing the same thing in our current lives. When do we start living for today (or our future) and not our past?

The thing is, the way we lived our past created who we are today. That isn't something to take lightly. Our experiences give us an opportunity to learn and grow. Don't miss out on that opportunity by living with regrets. It's okay to say you wished you had done something differently, but work on replacing that with a blessing. What is the positive thing that can come from it? I know it's there somewhere, you just have to look for it.

A lot of people say, "I didn't have a choice." But that's not true. Whether we like it or not, we do have a choice. We don't have to stick with a job that doesn't pay. We don't have to stick with a job we can't stand. We don't have to stick with a job that doesn't give us the kind of lifestyle we want. If the job keeps us away from our family for months at a time and we don't like it, unless we signed a binding contract, we can quit today. If the job doesn't pay well enough for our family's needs, we can start searching for a new job today.

We can choose which things we keep as priorities. If we want to save money, we can choose to cancel cable TV or Netflix. We can choose not to buy that expensive vehicle on the sales lot. We can choose to buy a house that is well below our means rather than overextending ourselves financially. We can choose to relocate if the real estate market in our area has grown beyond a reasonable level. We don't have to rent an apartment for $1,500 a month. We have the choice to move to a less expensive area or state. We always have a choice.

Sadly, it's too easy to believe the lies that we are stuck where we are. Sometimes we need to stay where we are so we can learn the lessons that God has planned for us, but when we focus on those lessons and actually learn from them, He opens new doors. When we learn, we have a chance to grow.

What effect do regrets have on our future? What damage does it do to our beliefs?

Having regrets makes it hard to embrace the life we have right now. It keeps us dwelling on what could have been. If only I had stayed at that job. If only I had bought that house. If only I had avoided that mistake. If only I had said the right thing. If only I had gone after that degree.

Focusing on the shoulda, coulda, wouldas keeps us from enjoying all of the great things that are happening in our lives right now. It keeps us frustrated, irritated, or uninspired. But when we take responsibility for our actions and appreciate the things that we do have, we allow ourselves to experience joy and peace.

How much we enjoy life depends greatly on how we view it and how we see our level of responsibility. It is up to us, and we always have a choice. The choice may not be easy or what we expect, and it may require us to have a strategy (or faith!) and stick with our current situation until the time is right, but we do have a choice. Don't live a life full of regrets. Let go of the past and live for today.

http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Break-Through-Regrets-in-Life&id=9410375

Sense Of Self: Are People Easier To Control When They Don't Have A Strong Sense Of Self?

If one had a hole in their drive that they wanted to fill, they could end up making a load of concrete. Through doing this, there would be no gaps and the hole would completely disappear.

The alternative would be for one to find a few bricks and to try to fill the hole in that way. And while this would fill the hole in, it wouldn't completely fill it like concrete would.

A Good Thing

In this case, it could be said that concrete is the perfect substance for the job, and that if it wasn't like this; it would have no use whatsoever. However, if one was on a boat and it started to leak, there would be no reason for them to use concrete.

In this case, it would be necessary for one to use something that will seal the hole straight away. Not only would the concrete go through the hole; it would also take too long to set.

Human Beings

In the same way concrete can be used by someone to fill any hole in, human beings can also go along with what other people want them to do. At the same time, they can also be like bricks, and this means that they won't be as easy to mould into something.

When it comes to using concrete, it is not going to result in anyone being taken advantage of. Yet when it comes to people who are as flexible as concrete, it can result in them being taken advantage of.

Bricks

At the same time, when one uses bricks it is also not going to cause anyone to be taken advantage of. And when people are also able to maintain who they are, there can be less chance of them being taken advantage of.

Still, this is not to say that there is anything wrong with people being flexible from time to time, as there may be moments when they need to be this way. This can be something that takes place without them being controlled.

A Choice

The difference is that when one is able to maintain who they are, they will have the ability to choose if they will go along with what someone else wants them to do. Whereas when one is unable to maintain who they are, this will be something that is out of their control.

As a result of this, their life is going to be radically different, and while this may be how these people have experienced life for as long as they can remember; this might not be the case. If one is able to maintain who they are, this might not be how their life has always been; but if one is unable to do this, this could be how their life has always been.

Sense of Self

What this comes down to is that some people have a sense of self and other people don't, and this is typically something that one will developed during their childhood years. So if one hasn't developed a sense of self, it is likely to be due to what took place when they were younger.

When one has a sense of self, it is going to mean that they have boundaries, and this will allow them to have their own life. But if they didn't have them, it would be more or less impossible for them to have their own life.

Boundaries

On one hand, they will allow one to feel safe in their body, and on the other hand, they will allow them to have their own views on life. Through feeling safe, one will be able to express themselves, as well as have the ability to say no.

And by having their own views, it is going to mean that one doesn't simply follow other people; they are able come to their own conclusions. Also, one will have a clear idea of what they value and what they don't.

Boundaryless

When one hasn't developed boundaries, it can be normal for them to please others, and they are going to find it hard to say no. In fact, they might be used to saying yes all the time, and this is going to make their life harder than it needs to be.

And even if they think that they have developed their own views, they might be views that they have picked up from others. Their values might also be second hand, and this means that they might not be in their best interests.

The Leader and the Follower

One way of looking at this would be to say that the first person will be a leader and the second person will be a follower. However, just because someone hasn't developed boundaries and is out of touch with themselves, it doesn't mean that they will come across as a follower.

They could be in a position where they try to tell other people how to live their life, and this can be a way for them to experience self-control. And as they haven't developed boundaries, they might to realise when they are violating other people's personal space.

Connected

What this shows is how important it is for one to have strong connection to themselves when it comes to living a fulfilling life. And not only is this something that will benefit individuals, it will also benefit countries.

This is because when a country is filled with people who have a strong sense of their identity; it will be a lot harder for them to be controlled. But without it, it will be relatively easy for people to be manipulated by external forces.

Awareness

If one is in a position where they haven't got a strong sense of self and they want this to change, it will be important for them to reach out for external support. This can be provided by a therapist and/or a support group.

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