"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
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.
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... :)
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.
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!
I recently interviewed wealth building expert, Brenda Coté about her amazing life story. Brenda went from growing up living on dirt floors and having an outhouse in Mexico to being a successful real estate investor in California. The full interview is on the CreateAWOW Podcast, but I wanted to share this short 5-6 minute clip where she talks about gratitude and the important role it's played in her success. Great stuff here! After you listen, I'd love to hear your comments about how gratitude has helped you.
I spoke last night at Langston Charter Middle School in Greenville, SC about my 4th great grandmother, Dicey Langston - a Revolutionary War Heroine. The school is unique in that it helps develop leadership and service skills in its students. Each student is required to perform at least 10 hours of community service each quarter. The older grades require a little more.
I was able to meet some of the students, many of whom have already read "The Patriot Wore Petticoats." It's required reading at the school and it was such a thrill for me to have these little 12-14 year olds come up with their books in hand, ask me to sign their copy and say, "I loved your book. I've read it three times!"
They were the sweetest, best-behaved and intelligent group of middle-schoolers I've ever met. I was very impressed and I believe Dicey would be honored to know they are carrying on her legacy.
The following two videos are both parts of my remarks that evening.
I'm speaking on "Becoming the Hero of Your Own Life Story" as inspired by my 4th great grandmother, "Daring Dicey" Langston, a Revolutionary War heroine. In case you happen to be in the Greenville, South Carolina vicinity, please drop by. I'll be signing copies of The Patriot Wore Petticoats from 6-7pm ET at Langston Charter Middle School on Roper Mountain Road, and speaking to the parents/student body after that.
When my friend Marcia was here visiting from Colorado, we walked down to my thinking spot along the Chickamauga Creek. The picture below is one Marcia took of her niece Sara and me. I love this picture because it captures the spot so well and has sweet little Sara in it. This is the place I go whenever I'm overwhelmed or when I need a place to meditate. Many of my prayers have been answered along this creek. It's brought inspiration for both business ideas and books.
I highly recommend finding your own thinking spot . . . somewhere that fills you with gratitude to God for all that is beautiful and good in the world. Then go there often not only to pray and express gratitude, but also to listen. It's amazing what comes when we take time to listen.
Whew, what a busy couple weeks it's been! The IdeaMarketers expert program is taking off and I've been working 10-12 hour days 6 days/week keeping up with it while also working to systematize, automate and delegate as much as I can.
My objective is to find my life again and still have the business zipping along at lightning speed. For years I intentionally held back business growth because I wasn't much of a delegator. Control freak might make a good descriptor. :) But I've been doing better at this delegation thing of late. Greg is working in the business, keeping up with blogs. Next week I'll be training Laurel to take over a lot of the technical aspects since she's a whiz at html and graphic design. And my VA, Luanna Rodham has finally finished her radiation, coming through her breast cancer recovery like a trooper. So hopefully she'll have enough energy to take over a lot of the article writing/promotion tasks.
This should free me for one-on-one interactions with my clients, teleclasses and sales and still leave time for writing. So now you know why I'm woefully behind on IamJoyful lessons! I promise to send out a lesson soon.
I set up 4 blogs that Greg's keeping up with on a daily basis and including, tips, tools and events from our experts. I'm excited about the full range of talent we have in our expert village. These are some phenomenal people and just associating with them is accelerating my success and raising my thermometer about what is possible. Please stop by and get to know our talented experts on these blogs:
For a full list of experts visit our expert directory.
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