The Power of Gratitude

Intuition and Gratitude

Recently I had the opportunity to interview Intuition Expert, Andrea Hess. She's the author of "Unlock Your Intuition: How to Accurately and Reliably Access Your Most Valuable Resource."  Here's a short 2-minute clip from that interview where we're discussing gratitude and the role it plays in following your intuitive nudges.

MP3 File

The full interview with Andrea is part of my new program entitled "How to Get More Done in a Day than Most Accomplish in a Week!" In the audio, we cover some amazing things about using your intuition to get more done in less time... and how make fewer mistakes along the way!

Tag, I'm It

Just for fun…someone sent me this Blog Tag and so I had to comply... especially since it was my good friend/business partner! :)

ABC TAG:
A = ADVOCATE FOR: Preserving Liberty
B = BEST FEATURE: laid-back personality
C = COULDN'T DO WITHOUT: chocolate
D = DREAMS AND DESIRES: Raise 6 faithful sons/daughters and hit the New York Times Best-seller List.
E = ESSENTIAL ITEM: computer
F= FAVORITE PAST TIME: a good romantic comedy (book or movie)
G = GOOD AT: Getting Things Done
H = HAVE NEVER TRIED: monkey brain
I = IF I HAD A MILLION DOLLARS: Build a barn, get some horses, and start a free publishing program for kids to get their books in print.
J = JUNKIE FOR: chocolate (see above)
K = KINDRED SPIRIT: Dicey Langston
L = LITTLE KNOWN FACT: One of my favorite places to shop is a feed and seed store
M = MEMORABLE MOMENT: Hanging upside down from a blooming dogwood limb with my friend Kara
N = NEVER AGAIN WILL I: fix a septic line
O = OCCASIONAL INDULGENCE: Crème Brulèe

Q = QUOTE: "It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship...There are no 'ordinary' people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations -- these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit -- immortal horrors or everlasting splendors." --C. S. Lewis, From The Weight of Glory.

R = REASON TO SMILE: My son Elijah and his toothless grin
S = SORRY ABOUT: people who lack friends
T = TAG SOME FRIENDS: Kerry Blair, Julie Bellon
U = UNINTERESTED IN: Screaming musicians
V = VERY SCARED OF: snakes
W = WORST HABIT: Eating too much chocolate!
X = X MARKS MY IDEAL VACATION SPOT: English Castle Tour
Y = YESTERYEAR DECADE OF CHOICE: 1920's
Z = ZODIAC SIGN: Taurus

Attracting War: Is It Really What You Want?

Anyone who understands the law of attraction knows that you get what you expect... what you focus on, what you work toward, and what you wait for. There's one presidential candidate who expects war throughout the remainder of this century, is that what you want?

SciFi Fantasy Screenplay Award Winner Seeks Producer

A special thanks to author, Anne Bradshaw, for spotlighting me on her "Not Entirely British Blog" yesterday!

Anne's got something exciting going. She's seeking a producer for The Ardanea Pendant, winner of the SciFi Fantasy Award at the International Family Film Festival Hollywood, March 2008.

Screenwriter, Jeanne McKinney, and Anne Bradshaw, collaborated on a new feature screenplay, set in the volatile 60's - Dublin, Ireland. It is time travel adventure with a twist--full of action and mind-teasing fun.

Art by Eric Boden

Three Politics students, fed up with Ireland's civil strife, unleash the hidden powers of a Celtic pendant to catapult through time and reform ancient warriors - redefining their modern world.

Doesn't that sound fascinating! Can't wait to see it on the big screen!

Happy Mother's Day

Am I the only one or at Mother's Day do you sometimes wish you were a better mother? In comparing myself to my own mother, I fall woefully short. The woman seems to have a sixth sense about the needs of her children. I can't tell you the number of times she's shown up at my door with just the item I needed ... especially when I was a young mother struggling to make ends meet. I remember the time I ran out of fabric softener only to go to the front door and find my mother standing there with a bag of groceries dangling from her arm. What would I find inside? Of course, a bottle of fabric softener!

Not only is she border-line psychic, she faithfully attended every one of my basketball games and still shows up when I'm speaking somewhere in town. She's been my sounding board, my friend, and my soft place to land. I thank God daily for my saint of a mother. I only wish my children could do the same! And so, I've put together some sage advice from various experts so we can all learn a little bit more about improving our mother-child relationships. You may read what the experts have to say in the article, "This Mother's Day Improve Your Mother-Child Relationships."

Gratitude Unlocks the Fullness of Life

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity.... It turns problems into gifts, failures into success, the unexpected into perfect timing, and mistakes into important events. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow." ~Melodie Beattie

Marcia Lynn McClure and Her Sticks

When Marcia was here visiting her sister Luanna, we spent a day together. We took a walk across our property to the creek and enjoyed a beautiful day in nature. Along the way Marcia picked up a couple sticks as treasures. She's the only person I know who can weave a story out of a couple water-rotten sticks. LOL For an entertaining read, hop over to Marcia's blog for a few pictures and her version of the day.

Gratitude and Revelation

Mark E. Mendenhall said something at church today that really resonated with me. He said, "Gratitude is a prerequisite to personal revelation."  I have most definitely found this to be the case. If I spend some time counting my blessings and thinking about all the "tender mercies" I've received from God in the past, it puts me in a positive and grateful frame of mind. This positive frame of mind helps me expect more answers and more guidance. If I think about all the ways God has carried me through difficult situations in the past, I realize that He will do so again. This expectant and grateful state of mind, makes it much easier to receive answers and guidance.

If I want to hasten inspiration, I spend some time being grateful for everything I already have. Try it yourself. Really think about and be grateful for all you've been given and see if you don't see a shift in your thoughts and a deepening of your connection with God.

Give it a try and let me know how it works out for you... :)

Abundance Mentality - Scarcity vs Abundance

In the interview I conducted for the CreateAWOW podcast with wealth building expert, Brenda Cote', we touched on the importance of having an abundance mentality when working with others. Whenever we're trying to force ourselves onto others, we're basically operating from a scarcity mentality. We're saying that that person HAS to be in our life because there might not be another. When we operate from an abundance perspective, we realize there are "other fish in the sea"... whether we're talking about friendships, customers or romantic relationships.

The following is a short 2-3 minute clip from our conversation.

Wireless High Speed Internet for the House!

It's a dream come true for me. I've been wishing for it for years, and now it's a reality - wireless internet throughout our house. Up until last year, I ran my entire internet business off dial up! Can you imagine?  We're so far out in the country, they said they'd have to launch another satellite into space to get us satellite internet. Cable and DSL have never been options and still aren't.

Then my brother-in-law stumbled onto Sprint's broadband service but it only gave us high speed on one computer at a time. With Laurel and Greg going to work in my business, we needed high speed for more than just mine. So my friend Zac (an amazing whiz kid) figured it out. There's not much Zac can't figure out.

He got us a KYOCERA KR1 Mobile Router that sits in our living room connected to the Sprint Broadband device. The 2 laptops can easily pick up the wireless like they would at anyplace that has WIFI. Then he got two EnGenius Wireless LAN Long Range USB Adapters for the 2 desktops. They just connect through a USB port. It took him about 1.5 to 2 hours to configure and test everything... of course that was with Elijah following Zac around, distracting him with a gazillion questions and making obnoxious noises pumping his hand under his arm. Poor guy. He handled it with the patience of Job and the genius of Einstein.

Needless to say I'm thrilled that everyone can use the internet and stop fighting over my high speed device!