Achieving Life Abundance Blog

April 1, 2007 11:07 - What is the Power of Now?

"So deal with the past on the level of the present.

The more attention you give to the past, the more you energize it, and the more likely you are to make a 'self' out of it.

"Don't misunderstand: Attention is essential, but not to the past as past.

"Give attention to the present; give attention to your behavior, to your reactions, moods, thoughts, emotions, fears, and desires as they occur in the present.

"There's the past in you.

"If you can be present enough to watch all those things, not critically or analytically but nonjudgmentally, then you are dealing with the past and dissolving it through the power of your presence.

"You cannot find yourself by going into the past. You find yourself by coming into the present." - The Power of Now, by Eckhart Tolle, p. 75

April 2, 2007 17:26 - Abundance Attitude - Self Fulfillment Comes With an Abundance Attitude

In my experience, an abundance attitude is the key to a rewarding and fulfilling life.

One of my experiences in particular on how important your attitude is in terms of creating a bountiful existence is when I was training for my financial services business.

Working with people is rewarding at times and extremely frustrating at times ;-)

I would have to say that a person's attitude is what separates the rewarding experience from the frustrating experience...

Read complete article...

April 3, 2007 00:14 - Unlock the Mind and Unlock the Spirit

I just came across an article called Mission Possible that may be of interest to you...

While I tend to disbelieve the scare-mongering it mentions regarding the impending doom of global warming and "close at hand" extinction of many species, I do find value in the mention of a spiritual revolution.

I do believe that a "new awakening" is occurring whereby more people are understanding how ludicrous it is for man to continue using 10% of his brain capacity.

As we learn to unlock the mysteries of the mind, the mysteries of our spirit will unlock with it...

"If we used our genius for marketing and storytelling to project a different vision and value system, we could repattern and reprogram the collective psyche in a very short period of time...

"... The 'new news' would focus on trends that support sustainability and higher consciousness, and relentlessly expose techniques of fear-mongering, social control, and 'greenwashing'...

"... Responding to the necessity of the planetary crisis, the reinvented mass media would promote the attainment of happiness through nonmaterial means. Such a proposition may seem unrealistic - but at a time when our future as a species is imperiled, we might want to reconsider our concept of 'realism'."

Read more...

April 5, 2007 21:08 - Do You Recognize the Help Your Higher Self Provides?

Sometimes, as we seek abundance and pursue our dreams, we lose sight of enjoying the journey. We also don't recognize the help that's put in our lives.

Consider the following passage from "The Dream Giver", by Bruce Wilkinson...

"...My name is Faith," she said. "The Dream Giver sent me to help you."

"But it's too late!" cried Ordinary. "My Dream is dead. When I needed the Dream Giver most, he was nowhere in sight."

"What do you need that you haven't received?" asked Faith.

"Well, if it weren't for the few springs of water I found," answered Ordinary, "I'd be dead of thirst by now!"

"Yes? And?" she asked.

"If it weren't for the fruit I found, I'd be a walking skeleton! I could die of starvation any minute!"

"Oh, my!" Faith murmured. "And?"

"Well," huffed Ordinary, "a little guidance would have been nice. Ever since I came here, it's been one delay after another. I've been wandering in circles since I don't know when. What a Waste!"

"I see," said Faith, nodding. "So what will you do now?"

"Just tell me how to get back to Familiar," he said.

"I'm sorry," she said. "But I can't help you with that."

"That figures," said Ordinary. "The Dream Giver sends me a helper who can't even help!"

"You might be right," said Faith. "But that's for you to decide."

Then Faith walked away in a direction Ordinary felt sure was wrong...

... Later that same day, Ordinary was eating some fruit beside a trickle of water, when he saw his journey through the WasteLand in a whole new way.

• Food enough for the day.
• Water, when he needed to drink.
• A path to follow that led to Faith

How could he have been so blind? Even when the Dream Giver had been nowhere in sight, he had always been near. pp. 18-19

April 7, 2007 12:29 - Recognizing, Embracing, Relieving the Suffering of Anger

"The first function of mindfulness is to recognize, not to fight. 'Breathing in, I know that anger has manifested in me. Hello, my little anger.' And breathing out, 'I will take good care of you.'

"Once we have recognized our anger, we embrace it. This is the second function of mindfulness, and it is a very pleasant practice. Instead of fighting, we are taking good care of our emotion. If you know how to embrace your anger, something will change.

"We have said many times that it is like cooking potatoes. You cover the pot and then the water will begin to boil. You must keep the stove on for at least twenty minutes for the potatoes to cook.

"Your anger is a kind of potatoe and you cannot eat a raw potatoe.

"Mindfulness is like the fire cooking the potatoes of anger. The first few minutes of recognizing and embracing your anger with tenderness can bring results.

"...Anger is still there, but you do not suffer so much anymore, because you know how to take care of your baby.

"So the third function of mindfulness is soothing, relieving. Anger is there, but it is being taken care of. The situation is no longer in chaos, with the crying baby left all alone.

"The mother is there to take care of the baby and the situation is under control." - Anger, by Thich Nhat Nanh, pp. 168-169

April 9, 2007 10:24 - Have Faith in Yourself, Faith in the Infinite

"Faith is the ‘eternal elixir’ which gives life, power, and action to the impulse of thought!

"The foregoing sentence is worth reading a second time, and a third, and a fourth. It is worth reading aloud!

"Faith is the starting point of all accumulation of riches! Faith is the basis of all ‘miracles,’ and all mysteries which cannot be analyzed by the rules ofscience!

"Faith is the only known antidote for Failure!

"Faith is the element, the ‘chemical’ which, when mixed with prayer, gives one direct communication with Infinite Intelligence.
"Faith is the element which transforms the ordinary vibration of thought, created by the finite mind of man, into the spiritual equivalent.

"Faith is the only agency through which the cosmic force of Infinite Intelligence can be harnessed and used by man." - Think and Grow Rich, by Napolean Hill, p. 34

April 10, 2007 23:51 - How Well Do You Look Within?

"So your problem is not the world of newspapers, ideas, and politicians, it is the world within yourself - but you have to realize, to feel the truth of this, and not merely agree because the Gita or some bearded gentleman says it is so.

"If you are aware of that inner world and are watching yourself without condemnation or justification from day to day, from moment to moment, then in that awareness you will find there is a tremendous vitality.

"The mind that is accumulating is frightened to die, and such a mind can never discover what is truth.

"But to a mind that is dying every minute to everything that it has experienced, there comes an astonishing vitality because every moment is new; and only then is the mind capable of discovery." - Total Freedom, by J. Krishnamurti, p. 197

April 11, 2007 20:53 - Just in Case You're Trying to Learn Quality Sales Techniques

Most likely you're visiting my site because you want info on spiritual growth, personal growth, or just plain over-all abundance ideas.

However, I do know that you may be part of that group visiting my site seeking financial abundance ideas. Based on feedback, I know you may be part of that group looking to increase your sales skills.

If not, just ignore this post of mine ;-)

While I don't often get into sales advice since I've been out of that field for some time now, I thought I'd pass on some knowledge I learned in the past that I know works.

Success in sales comes from building relationships. Nothing builds relationships better than letting your prospects know you really do care. Nothing helps them see that better than you taking a great interest in them.

Through the use of questions, you can successfully get into their hearts and minds and learn what they're really looking for from you.

I know, I know, every basic sales lesson talks about asking questions. But most mediocre salespeople have no idea how to ask effective questions without being shallow.

That's why I wholeheartedly recommend that you read "Secrets of Question Based Selling", by Thomas Freese.

It was of great help to me back in my selling days in the financial field.

An excerpt: "Everybody says you have to ask questions. Sales managers, sales trainers, and sales consultants all advocate the importance of questions...

"But too many questions can make prospects feel uncomfortable, and asking the wrong questions at the wrong time can kill a conversation in its tracks.

"... we're not going to tell you to ask questions - you already know that. Instead, we're going to examine the strategy of what to ask, and how to ask it.

"As a result, you will discover that every question you deliver has three strategic attributes - a Scope, a Focus, and a Disposition...

"Before you start blasting prospects with questions, however, you must first earn the right to ask. In other words, prospective buyers must want to engage. What makes a prospect 'want to' engage?

"That's what you're about to find out." p. 79

Buy the book, read the book.

April 12, 2007 11:18 - Are You an Explorer?

"I roamed the countryside searching for answers to things I did not understand.

"Why shells existed on the tops of mountains along with the imprints of coral and plants and seaweed usually found in the sea.

"Why the thunder lasts a longer time than that which causes it and why immediately on its creation the lightning becomes visible to the eye while thunder requires time to travel.

"How the various circles of water form around the spot which has been struck by a stone and why a bird sustains itself in the air.

"These questions and other strange phenomena engaged my thought throughout my life." - Leonardo da Vinci, "Renaissance Man"

April 13, 2007 15:47 - Your Internal Dialogue

"This is the conversation that you have with yourself about everything that's going on in your life. You have just read a sentence... what you are thinking about it is your internal dialogue.

"If you were to put the book down, your internal dialogue might continue to be about this book, or it might shift to something entirely different, but it would not stop.

"In fact, that is one of the three fundamental characteristics about internal dialogue that you must understand, right now:

1) Your internal dialogue is constant;
2) Your internal dialogue happens in real time: It unfolds at the same speed with which you would say the actual words if you were speaking them out loud; and3) Your internal dialogue provokes a physiological change: As a result of every thought you have, there is a physical reaction."
- Phillip C. McGraw, in "Self Matters", pp. 79-80

While I understand what McGraw is trying to point out here, and agree to some extent; I do want to point out that much of your inner dialogue can be quieted.

Read my article, Your Spiritual Emergence, for more on this idea.

April 15, 2007 15:31 - Why Aren't You Building Income Through Your Own Home Business Yet?

In an article entitled, "Act On Your Idea To Start A Home Business And Start Making Money At Home", Cynthia Minnaar hits on an issue that I find also to be a major stumbling block for most people.

Have you always thought about making money from home? Do you yearn to leave that ugly commute each day to your job that you hate?

What's stopping you from taking on a part-time opportunity from home? No pressure, just begin something new and try to first supplement your income, then build toward a possible full-time income.

Probably, it's fear that's holding you back. If so, I suggest taking Cynthia's advice when she says...

"If you are pondering with the idea to start a home business the secret is to just get started and get into action with the determination to succeed and with the never quit attitude, no matter how long it takes to start making money or what challenges you meet along the way."

She's right. It's really all about just getting started.

By the way, you may want to check out the following links to see if what I do interests you as well...

Why I Love SBI

Case Studies of Successful Passion Websites

Video Tour - Making Your Own Successful Passion Website

Read more...

April 17, 2007 22:44 - Staying Positive Amongst the Cynics and Skeptics

I came across an interesting blog post by Steve Pavlina where he talks about the cynics and skeptics of anything to do with personal growth or self help.

I found it interesting because I, too, come across people who seem to focus on the negative stuff and relish the idea of bringing those around them down.

My hope for you is that as you also encounter this type of individual, you can filter it out of your mind as you focus on that which empowers you.

Keep your own inner peace at the forefront. Do what is necessary for you to find the right mix of learning, growth, income, etc., that allows you to achieve the abundance that makes you happy.

Always be mindful to keep an open mind to all new ideas and possibilities. Don't allow your programmed beliefs to get in the way of considering something new in your life.

"Although I wouldn’t take pains to invite them over for dinner, I feel grateful for the self-help cynics in my life because they remind me not to fall into the trap of becoming so attached to an idea that I close myself off to new possibilities.

"Whenever I feel myself needing to emotionally defend my position in some way instead of open-mindedly exploring it, I recognize I’m resonating with the cynical part of me that needs to be right. So I remind myself that I am not my ideas, and I needn’t ever defend them as such..."

Read more...

April 19, 2007 07:29 - "I Believe in You" Collection of Inspiring Quotes

I came across a simple little book called "I Believe in You" that's a collection of quotes compiled by Dan Zadra. I recommend picking it up and reading one inspiring quote each day.

Here's a few examples I like...

"The longest journey you will ever take is the 18 inches from your head to your heart." - Andrew Bennett

"Close your eyes and imagine that you're being interviewed on your 100th birthday. What are the five top things you would love to be able to tell the reporters that you've accomplished? Now open your eyes and write them down. You have a fresh start on life!" - EDGE Keynote

"All we can ask in our lives is that perhaps we can make a little difference in someone else's." - Lillian Davis

"Still I am learning." - Michelangelo

"Dreams are renewable. Whether you're five or 105, you have a lifetime ahead of you." - Rev. Dale Turner

"Everyone has a gift for something, even if it is the gift of being a good friend." - Marian Anderson

"When starting a new project, try to make as many mistakes as rapidly as possible in order to learn as much as you can in the shortest period of time." - Bob Moawad

"The whole idea of living is to believe the best is yet to be." - Peter Ustinov

April 21, 2007 13:11 - Life Balance and Abundance Can Come Naturally

"Don't neglect your family! You can't afford to ignore your professional life! Don't take on too much! Stay active! Avoid stress!

"Balance your life!

"... I suggest you ignore this background chatter about balancing your life. Instead, live with the truth that none of this really matters to you.

"Yes, the surrounding culture, friends, family, and colleagues can give you an idea of what's involved in living a balanced life, but you won't get anywhere until you discover what balance is for you and no one else.

"When you say you want balance in your life, what do you mean? What is going on when you long for balance?

"Conversely, what's happening when you're satisfied with your life and don't even think of the balance challenge?" - The Highest Goal, by Michael Ray, pp. 116-117

I think this is a great passage to pay attention to, especially if you've never sat back and thought about what it really takes to make you happy.

Stop listening to what others say is important and set your life up so it includes the values and situations that create your perfect life.

Your life of abundance awaits you as soon as you filter out what's not right in your life and include what you value most.

April 23, 2007 12:52 - Three Selected Quotes From "Think and Grow Rich"

• "Our brains become magnetized with the dominating thoughts which we hold in our minds, and, by means with which no man is familar, these 'magnets' attract to us the forces, the people, the circumstances of life which harmonize with the nature of our dominating thoughts."
• "One sound idea is all one needs to achieve success."
• "When riches begin to come they come so quickly in such abundance, that one wonders where they have been hiding during all those lean years."

If there's one book that I put in front of you that you must read for life abundance and financial abundance, it's "Think and Grow Rich", by Napoleon Hill.

This book helps you get it right where it counts most: the thoughts you hold inside your mind.

April 25, 2007 15:25 - Manners

A great little story from Chicken Soup for the Unsinkable Soul, by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, and Heather McNamara...

"The tired ex-teacher edged closer to the counter at Kmart. Her left leg hurt and she hoped she had taken all of her pills for the day: the ones for her high blood pressure, dizziness, and a host of other ills.

"Thank goodness I retired years ago, she thought to herself. I don't have the energy to teach these days.

"Just before the line to the counter formed, she spotted a young man with four children and a pregnant wife of girlfriend in tow.

"The teacher couldn't miss the tattoo on his neck. He's been to prison, she thought. She continued checking him out. His white T-shirt, shaved hair and baggy pants led her to surmise, He's a gang member.

"The teacher tried to let the man go ahead of her. 'You can go first,' she offered.

"'No, you go first,' he insisted.

"'No, you have more people with you,' said the teacher.

"'We should respect our elders,' parried the man. And with that, he gestured with a sweeping motion indicating the way for the woman.

"A brief smile flickered on her lips as she hobbled in front of him. The teacher in her decided she couldn't let the moment go and she turned back to him and asked,

"'Who taught you your good manners?'

"'You did Mrs. Simpson, in third grade.'" - Paul Karrer, pp. 277-278

April 27, 2007 10:40 - Facing Your Money Fears

"In our culture it's okay to talk about therapy we've gone through, marital problems we've had, our deepest intimate secrets...

"but telling the truth about money, confessing our worries to our children, our parents, our friends, just isn't done.

"Money is our secret both in private and in public.

"Imagine going to a dinner party and telling a group of close acquaintances, 'I just don't know what to do. My credit card debt has gone up to $17,000, and I don't know how I'll ever get out of it.'

"The room would fall into embarrassed silence. (Most silent of all would be the others in the room weighed down by the secret of their own credit card debt.)

"In the most profound sense our money says nothing about us, about whether we're kind, generous of spirit, living our lives well.
"Yet we need money to live, as surely as we need air to breathe, and this need cuts across all races, both sexes, all income brackets.

"Almost all of us have, at some level, fears or anxieties about money - but we rarely admit them to those around us. We may not admit them to ourselves.

"But because they are holding us back, preventing us from taking control of our financial lives, looking these fears in the eye is an essential step toward freedom." - excerpted from The 9 Steps to Financial Freedom, by Suze Orman, pp. 21-22

If you're having issues with money, try going to my Financial Success page for a few ideas.

I don't have all the answers there (it's still a work in progress), but I feel it will give you a start toward improving your financial future and over-all abundance.

April 29, 2007 17:56 - Words Everyone You Love Must Hear From You

"When my kids were old enough, my wife Angela and I tried to communicate our commitment to them.

"We said, 'We want you kids to know that, in your lifetime, you're going to do something that you're not proud of, and you're going to make mistakes.

"'But you can't make a mistake that I haven't made. And I want you to know that, sometime in your life, when you've messed up and you're counting on other people to help, many people will let you down.

"'They won't be there and believe in you when you need them.

"'But there's no situation you can ever be in that you can't count on your mom and dad. We might hurt, we might cry, we might be disappointed, but here are two people who are going to stand by you and fight with you to overcome your problems.'"
-excerpted from Pushing Up People, by Art Williams, pp. 27-28

I thought I'd pass on this passage from Art Williams' book today and recommend that you let someone close to you, whether it's your kids, or just someone you care about, hear these same words come out of your mouth.

Do it now. Tell someone you love that they can never do anything that'll make you love them any less. Someone you care about needs to hear those words.

April 30, 2007 23:09 - Your Constant Supply of Money

"Recognizing the powers of your subconscious mind and the creative power of your thought or mental image is the way to opulence, freedom, and constant supply.

"Accept the abundant life in your own mind. Your mental acceptance and expectancy of wealth has its own mathematics and mechanics of expression.

"As you enter into the mood of opulence, all things necessary for the abundant life will come to pass.

"Let this be your daily affirmation; write it in your heart...

"'I am one with the infinite riches of my subconscious mind. It is my right to be rich, happy, and successful.

"'Money flows to me freely, copiously, and endlessly. I am forever conscious of my true worth.

"'I give of my talents freely, and I am wonderfully blessed financially. It is wonderful!'"

-excerpt from The Power of Your Subconscious Mind, by Dr. Joseph Murphy, p. 118

March 2007 « » May 2007

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