Posts from — January 2008

We are all looking for the Promised Land — the realm in which we can finally live up to our full potential and are no longer held down by our limiting beliefs or fears.  In order to get to that glorious place, we must be willing to leave our doubt-filled quarters behind and begin dwelling in possibility.

Encouragement Always.

Whatever you do, you need courage.  Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong.  There are always difficulties arising that tempt you to believe your critics are right.  To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires some of the same courage that a soldier needs.  Peace has its victories, but it takes brave men and women to win them.

Encouragement Always.

You have had years to plan, plot, dream and scheme.  If you know what you want, now is the time to begin.  Because I know “beginnings” can be hard, I have outlined 10 simple steps to help you get going:

1.  START HERE.  You can only begin where you are.  Telling yourself, “I should have  started earlier” is a waste of precious time.

2.  CHOOSE & MOVE.  There is more than one right way to begin.  Waiting until you can decide on the perfect place to start will keep you stuck.  Choose your next step and then take it.

3.  COUPLE LEARNING WITH ACTION.  If you hear yourself saying, “I need to do more research and planning” wash your mouth out with soap.  You can learn and act at the same time.

4.  DON’T GET YOUR SIGNALS CROSSED.  Doubt and anxiety are not signs you should quit or you are making the wrong move.  When your inner critic starts saying, “What you are doing is not working” tell yourself to “Dig in don’t give in!”

5.  IT’S NOT THE END OF THE WORLD.  So what if you turn left instead of turning right.  Life will go on and so can you.  Thomas Edison made 10,000 wrong moves before he invented the light bulb.

6.  GET OVER YOUR FEAR OF FAILING.  Every successful person on the planet has experienced failure at least one time in his or her life.  However, while a successful person fails many times and bounces back, the failure fails only once.

7.  KEEP BREATHING.  Relax and trust the process.  If you hear a voice in your head saying “At this rate you will never finish” yell the word “STOP” and keep going.

8.  STOP LOOKING AROUND.  Comparing yourself to other people will only slow you down and keep you stuck.  Run your own race.

9.  EVERY STEP COUNTS.  We all have our good days and bad days.  On days when the going seems rough, remind yourself that a small step is better than no step at all.

10.  KEEP ON KEEPING ON.  If you focus on starting, finishing will take care of itself.  Let’s face it, the only reason we don’t consistently finish what we start is because we quit starting.

Encouragement Always. 

1.  What do I stand for?

2.  What is my purpose?

3.  What is my passion?

4.  What makes me happy?

5.  What makes me cry?

6.  What am I tolerating?

7.  What am I neglecting?

8.  What do I really believe in?

9.  What thrills me?

10.  What is fun?

11.  What do I avoid?

12.  What do I want more of?

13.  What do I need to let go of?

14.  What am I afraid of?

15.  What makes me go?

16.  What makes me stop?

17.  What am I becoming?

18.  What makes me, me?

19.  Who do I love?

20.  Who loves me?

Encouragement Always.

Will sending 30K Notes of Encouragement really make a difference in the world?  I don’t know but I do know that it makes a difference to the women who receive them. 

Encouragement Always.

I don’t know what you you may have been told or what you may have been telling yourself, but the truth is this: you were wondrously and marvelously made.  And that means you have wonderful and marvelous things to say.  The beauty of life is that when we speak from our hearts or that place inside of us that is authentic and true, the world will want to listen to what we have to say. 

Encouragement Always.

One’s only rival is one’s own potentialities.  One’s only failure is failing to live up to one’s own possibilities.

Encouragement Always.

Here’s a passage from a book I wrote many years ago,  Reading to Heal:  How to Use Bibliotherapy to Improve Your life:

I have said before, but it bears repeating.  If you have been reading to heal but feel you are making little progress, the problem may not lie with you or the books you are reading.  Maybe, you are not quite ready to heal.  And if you are not ready… you are not ready.  Don’t despair.  Give yourself credit and a hug for acknowledging your wounds.  This giant step toward growth and developement takes lots of faith and courage.

If you can’t appreciate the significance of acknowledging your pain think of the countless other options you have.  You could completely ignore it, bury the hurt deep insde you or simply pretend you don’t feel the pain.  But instead of selecting options that will only make matters worse, you have decided to endure the sometimes painful process of reading to heal.  And for doing so, you deserve admiration, respect, encouragement and applause.

Don’t allow anyone — including that annoying voice in your head that is telling you you’re wasting time by reading to heal — to convince you otherwise.

During a particularly difficult period in my life, I was sitting at my kitchen table formulating a reading plan that I hoped would provide comfort and help me stay encouraged.  My husband, who is usually very supportive but who obviously thought dinner, not books, should adorn the table, asked, “What kind of miracle do you expect will happen as a result of reading those books?”  I say to you what I say to him, “Reading is the miracle!”

So, no matter how long it takes for you to grow or heal, just keep reading and believing.  One day you will open the right book at the right time, and it will change your life.

Encouragement Always. 

When you realize who you are, you understand that nothing can stop you from becoming that person.

Encouragement Always.

Here’s a very powerful excerpt from the speech Dr. King gave the night before he was assasinated:

And I got into Memphis, and some say the threats were all around. Well, I don’t know what will happen now. We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn’t matter with me, because I’ve been to the mountain top. Longevity has its place, but I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will, and He’s allowed me to go up the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I have seen the Promised Land. And I don’t mind. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land. I am not worried. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.

Encouragement Always.