“There’s no take backs in life. Think before you act because you can never go back and change it.” –Natalie Osborn

“I tell you this, Heal the rift between you, end the illusion of separation and you shall be delivered back to the source of your inner strength. That is where you will find true power. The power to do anything. The power to be anything. The power to have anything. For the power to create is derived from the inner strength that is produced through unity. Act as if you were separate from nothing, and you heal the world. Understand that it is about power with, not power over…” –Neale Donald Walsch, Conversations With God

Sorry for being MIA this week. I’ve added a few gems for you. Cheers! -Rob

“If you are not feeling ALL your emotions, it is impossible to live in personal Truth. Many of us are living under illusions of what is important to us, because we are so removed from our own Truth. When you feel your emotions, you begin discovering what is truly important to you. When you honor what is important to you, you begin to live authentically.”

“We are looking for a way to feel more real, but we do not realize that to feel more real we have to push ourselves further into the unknown.” –Mark Epstein

“When we seek happiness through accumulation, either outside of ourselves–from other people, relationships, or material goods–or from our own self-development, we are missing the essential point. In either case we are trying to find completion. But according to Buddhism, such a strategy is doomed. Completion comes not from adding another piece to ourselves but from surrendering our ideas of perfection.” –Mark Epstein

“Your reasoning is fine, but your experience is limited. Enlarge your experience, and your philosophy will be different.” –Goto Roshi

“When you are compassionate with yourself, you trust in your soul, which you let guide your life. Your soul knows the geography of your destiny better than you do.” –John O’Donohue

“To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong.” –Joseph Chilton Pearce

“If you surrender completely to the moments as they pass, you live more richly those moments.” –Anne Morrow Lindbergh

“Maybe God wants us to meet a few wrong people before meeting the right one so that when we finally meet the right person, we will know how to be grateful for the gift.”

“Count your blessings. Once you realize how valuable you are and how much you have going for you, the smiles will return, the sun will break out, the music will play, and you will finally be able to move forward the life that God intended for you with grace, strength, courage, and confidence.”

“Never let go of hope. One day you will see that it all has finally come together. What you have always wished for has finally come to be. You will look back and laugh at what has passed and you will ask yourself… ‘How did I get through all of that?”

Instead of looking at one’s dreams to understand one’s life, it may make more sense to look at one’s life to understand one’s dreams.

http://www.gaia.com/quotes/topics/life?page=3#ixzz0JxTfGaP2&D

I’m selfish, impatient, and a little insecure. I make mistakes, i am out of control and sometimes hard to handle, but if you can’t handle me at my worst you don’t deserve me at my best.
Marylin Monroe

There are no perfect m

“If you enter this world knowing you are loved and you leave this world knowing the same, then everything that happens in between can be dealt with.” –Michael Jackson

“In a world filled with hate, we must still dare to hope. In a world filled with anger, we must still dare to comfort. In a world filled with despair, we must still dare to dream. And in a world filled with distrust, we must still dare to believe.” –Michael Jackson

“To see a world in a grain of sand and heaven in a wild flower Hold infinity in the palms of your hand and eternity in an hour.” –William Blake

“A finished person is a boring person. I’m still a work in progress….”

“Start on yourself – We’d all rather focus on changing everyone else to conform to us. The only problem with that is we end up with an organization full of people who reflect our weaknesses!”

“You have got to own your days and live them, each one of them, every one of them, or else the years go right by and none of them belong to you.” –Herb Gardner

“Being bored is an insult to onself.” –Jules Renard

“Life’s under no obligation to give us what we expect.” –Margaret Mitchell

“Don’t let a bad moment ruin your day. Think of it as a bad minute, not a bad day and you’ll be okay. And remember… a positive attitude is a blessing. Cheers!” –Me

“You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.” –Kahlil Gibran

“Happiness, health, and prosperity are the result of a harmonious adjustment of the inner with the outer of the man with his surroundings.” –James Allen

“A truly rich man is one whose children run into his arms when his hands are empty.” –Source Unknown

“Lots of people talk to animals. … Not very many listen, though. … That’s the problem.” –Benjamin Hoff

“Kind words do not cost much. Yet they accomplish much.” –Blaise Pascal

“It is not our circumstances that create our discontent or contentment. It is us.” — Vivian Greene

“Faith is to believe what we do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what we believe.” –Unknown

“The principle of life is that life responds by corresponding; your life becomes the thing you have decided it shall be.” –Raymond Charles Barker

Guy Kawasaki shared this ad in his presentation at Gnomedex. Cheers! -Rob

A woman is often measured by the things she
cannot control. She is measured by the way her
body curves or doesn’t curve.

By where she is flat or straight or round. She is
measured by 36-24-36 and inches and ages and
numbers. By all the outside things that don’t
ever add up to who she is on the inside.

And so if a woman is to be measured, let her be
measured by the things she can control, by who
she is and who she is trying to become because
as every woman knows, measurements are only
statistics, and statistics lie.
© Nike

Extracted from Steve Pavlina’s website … good stuff! Chees! – Rob

• Truth: Accept reality and rid your life of falsehood and denial
• Love: Improve your ability to connect with yourself and others
• Power: Build your motivation and discipline to create the life you desire
• Oneness: Stop fighting against resistance, and make the world your ally
• Authority: Take command of your life, and learn to make clear decisions
• Courage: Summon the inner strength to take action in spite of fear
• Intelligence: Live authentically, and express your genuine creativity
• Habits: Create a daily routine that gives you a sense of flow
• Career: Build a career you’re truly passionate about
• Money: Achieve financial abundance without compromising your integrity
• Health: Adopt health habits that empower your physical body
• Relationships: Enjoy loving relationships that help you grow
• Spirituality: Raise your awareness and live more consciously

By Carl Moore

Have you ever hung on to a thought or a situation so tightly that it causes you stress or pain?

Perhaps – right now – you’re hanging on to an unhealthy relationship, habit or lifestyle?

Maybe you convince yourself that you really need this relationship, habit or lifestyle?

The truth is that we often attach ourselves to situations that aren’t particularly good for us and we do so because we’re basically frightened of change.

Some people will suffer immensely, putting up with a bad situation because they are more frightened of the unknown alternatives.

There comes a point, however, where enough is enough.

If you have reached this point in your life, simply stop and let go!

Sounds too easy? Well, actually it is but when you have convinced yourself that the alternative is more frightening, stopping and letting go appears to be much more difficult than it is.

The point to remember is that YOU always have a CHOICE!

No matter what is happening in your life, you definitely have a choice!

You can choose how you react to every situation or event in your life. You can choose to see that the pain and stress of holding on to an unhealthy situation is actually creating a miserable life. Sometimes, you have to stop and let go no matter what you think may lie ahead.

What’s more, when you make a conscious decision to change a situation, you will feel your life lighten.

So, stop and let go.

Release your grip on an unhealthy situation. Focus on what will bring you happiness and healthy experiences. It will change your life … for the BETTER!

“We don’t laugh because we’re happy — we’re happy because we laugh.” –William James

“The easiest thing to be in the world is you. The most difficult thing to be is what other people want you to be. Don’t let them put you in that position.” –Leo Buscaglia

“Believe you are defeated, believe it long enough, and it is likely to become a fact.” –Norman Vincent Peale

“The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity.” –Ellen Parr

“All lasting wealth comes from enriching others in some way.” — Brian Tracy

by Margaret Paul, Ph.D.

Would the prince have chosen Cinderella to marry if she was a miserable young woman? If her stepsisters were beautiful but miserable, would he have chosen either of them?

Are you living under the delusion that when you meet your soul mate you will finally be happy – that your misery is because you are not in a relationship or not in the right relationship? If this is you, you might be interested in what I have discovered in my 42 years of counseling individuals and couples.

Most people who are happy in their marriages were ALREADY HAPPY before meeting their spouse! Happy people make happy marriages. Unhappy people either don’t marry or generally continue to be unhappy after getting married.

While Cinderella wasn’t happy with her circumstances, inside she was a loving, happy person. And so was the prince. “Happily ever after” is often not the result of getting married, but the result of two basically happy people getting married to each other!

Over and over I hear from my clients: “I need a relationship to be happy.” Over and over I say to them, “Focus on learning how to make yourself happy now and then you might find the relationship you are seeking.”

If you think about it, it makes sense. If you were a basically happy person, would you be attracted to a basically unhappy person? Not likely.

When you make your happiness dependent upon another person, you are handing them responsibility for your emotional wellbeing. Why would someone else want this responsibility? And, since we are attracted to each other at our common level of woundedness, the chances are that the person you are attracted to and who is attracted to you is also looking to you to take responsibility for their emotional wellbeing. This is called a codependent relationship, not a happy relationship, and definitely not happily ever after.

There is certainly nothing wrong with wanting a wonderful relationship. But the chances of finding that wonderful relationship if you are unhappy is slim. When you are already happy, then you want a relationship to share your love, your happiness, your joy, your learning and growth, and your interests. When you are unhappy, the chances are you are looking for a relationship to make you happy, and this is likely not going happen.

Back to Cinderella. Because she was a caring person, she tried very hard to make her stepmother and her stepsisters happy. But they were never happy. Why? Because they were angry and blaming people, making Cinderella responsible for their happiness. No matter how kind and wonderful she was, it did not matter, because their misery was created by their own beliefs and ways of treating themselves and others.

The same is true in today’s relationships. I have worked with many people who were never happy, no matter what their partner did to make them happy. As long as they were judging themselves and others instead of learning how to take responsibility for their own feelings, they were sad, empty, alone inside, hurt and/or angry. As long as they looked outside themselves for the source of their unhappiness, they were stuck being unhappy.

The way out of this unhappiness is to learn how to take 100% responsibility for your own pain and your own joy. Anyone can learn to do this, but, if you are stuck in the false belief that you need the right relationship in order to be happy, then you will likely not be motivated to learn how to do this.

“Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not.” –Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Learn how to turn frustration into fascination. You will learn more being fascinated by life than you will by being frustrated by it.” –Jim Rohn

“People think I’m disciplined. It is not discipline. It is devotion. There is a great difference.” –Luciano Pavarotti

Here are your quotes for Thursday… Cheers! -Rob

“All of our behavior results from the thoughts that preceded it? If so, then the thing to work on is not your behavior but the thing that caused your behavior, your thoughts.” –Dr. Wayne Dyer

“If the idea of having to change ourselves makes us uncomfortable, we can remain as we are. We can choose rest over labor, entertainment over education, delusion over truth, and doubt over confidence. The choices are ours to make. But while we curse the effect, we continue to nourish the cause.” –Jim Rohn

“Listen to the course of the world and to your own nature; and you’ll know what to do. Most people think that dialogue is a form of talking. It’s more about articulating what’s been heard and at what level. What are you actually listening to?” –Bill Isaacs

“Compassion, in which all ethics must take root, can only attain its full breadth and depth if it embraces all living creatures and does not limit itself to mankind.” –Albert Schweitzer

“You have to find something that you love enough to be able to take risks, jump over the hurdles and break through the brick walls that are always going to be placed in front of you. If you don’t have that kind of feeling for what it is you’re doing, you’ll stop at the first giant hurdle.” –George Lucas

“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.” –Andre Gide

“The most authentic thing about us is our capacity to create, to overcome, to endure, to transform, to love and to be greater than our suffering.” –Ben Okri

“The day, water, sun, moon, night, stars – I do not have to purchase these things with money. – Titus Maccius Plautus

“Chase your passion, not your pension!” –Denis Waitley

“The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today. Let us move forward with strong and active faith.” — Franklin D. Roosevelt

“Material success may result in the accumulation of possessions; but only spiritual success will enable you to enjoy them.” — Nido Qubein

“Ordinary riches can be stolen, real riches cannot. In your soul are infinitely precious things that cannot be taken from you.” –Oscar Wilde

“The major value in life is not what you get. The major value in life is what you become. That is why I wish to pay fair price for every value. If I have to pay for it or earn it, that makes something of me. If I get it for free, that makes nothing of me..” –Jim Rohn

“Once you say you’re going to settle for second, that’s what happens to you in life.” –John F. Kennedy

“Anger and intolerance are the enemies of correct understanding.” –Mohandas Gandhi

“Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy.” –Anne Frank

“Don’t find fault, find a remedy.” –Henry Ford

“By letting it go it all gets done. The world is won by those who let it go. But when you try and try. The world is beyond the winning.” –Lao Tzu

“He who knows that enough is enough will always have enough.” –Lao Tzu

“He who obtains has little. He who scatters has much.” –Lao Tzu

“If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading.” –Lao Tzu

“If you realize that all things change, there is nothing you will try to hold on to. If you are not afraid of dying, there is nothing you cannot achieve.” –Lao Tzu

“Your children will see what you’re all about by what you live rather than what you say.” –Wayne Dye

“Your family and your love must be cultivated like a garden. Time, effort, and imagination must be summoned constantly to keep any relationship flourishing and growing.” –Jim Rohn

“If you are always shouting at your children, when it’s really serious, they won’t h-e-a-r you. A whisper beats a shout.” –Mark Victor Hansen

“Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but rather we have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” –Aristotle

“Do what you love, love what you do, and deliver more than you promise.” ?–Harvey Mackay

“Don´t join an easy crowd; you won´t grow. Go where the expectations and the demands to perform are high.” –Jim Rohn

“The good times we put in our pocket. The hard times we put into our heart.” –Les Brown

“Good parents give their children Roots and Wings. Roots to know where home is, wings to fly away and exercise what’s been taught them.” –Jonas Salk

Why do we complain but remain the same? Why do so many of us curse the effect but nourish the cause?” –Jim Rohn

“What you leave within your children, is more important than what you leave to them.” –Denis Waitley

“I’ve been very blessed. My parents always told me I could be anything I wanted. When you grow up in a household like that, you learn to believe in yourself.” –Rick Schroeder

By Deborah hill

Obligations are an expected part of life. We take them on when we feel responsible and caring. However, obligations can drain us of our purpose and energy. They can pile up on us and drag us down.

An obligation is an unwelcome chore and a drain when we do anything that is not right for us in the moment. For example, I used to feel obligated to call my mother. I felt that it was my responsibility to call her, even when I was engaged in some other activity that was important to me. No matter what, I’d call her every couple of days, without fail. One time she answered and said jokingly, “You again.” It occurred to me that my mom is a very busy person, with a full life. She has four children, several grandchildren, countless friends and other relatives who call her regularly. She didn’t mind that I called, and enjoyed talking to me. But she didn’t need to hear from me every other day. I had assumed an obligation that was not necessary or real. I had pulled myself out of my appropriate activities to do something that I thought was expected.

I also realized that I wasn’t much fun to talk to when I called her out of obligation. Often I was busy and felt slightly resentful that I had to call. It was all made up. I didn’t have to call. I needed to do what I was doing and release myself of the imagined obligation. Now I call her when I feel like it, or have something to ask or tell her. Interestingly, it’s usually every two or three days. I’m more pleasant to talk to (I hope), and have more to offer, because I’m looking forward to talking to her.

I had another situation come up with one of my coaching clients. The client called me without an appointment during the middle of the day and immediately began talking about a problem she was having. I cared about her and felt obligated to help her, so I dropped the project I was working on to talk to her. After 30 minutes of listening to her and attempting to help her, I felt seriously stressed. Several people had tried to call me about the project I’d been working on. Time was running short and I was becoming stressed and drained. However, I felt obligated to keep talking, and satisfied knowing that I was helping this person in need.

A week later this same person called, and the incident repeated itself; and again a few days later. She had the same questions and same needs. I wasn’t helping her after all. Instead I was encouraging co-dependence. I wasn’t allowing this client to help herself and use the information that I had given her during her last session. What’s more, she wasn’t honoring my time. Energetically the time was not working in her favor because it was a stressful time for me to be coaching.

Are your obligations real or imagined? How often do you feel self-important and overly responsible for other people’s happiness? When an obligation becomes a burden, it is an ineffective use of energy. Either you’re doing the wrong action, or you’re doing it at the wrong time, or for the wrong reasons. An obligation is a joy and an opportunity when it is appropriate. I schedule several coaching sessions each week. These obligations are blessings and not burdens.

You drain yourself whenever you do something, which isn’t best for you in the moment. If you give your power and love because you feel you have to, not because it feels right at the time, you martyr yourself. Self-sacrifice weakens you, and rarely helps someone else. Look at the obligations that you take on unnecessarily. If you do what needs to be done in the moment, there is no drain. You’re happier and more effective

“What single ability do we all have? The ability to change.” –George Leonard Andrews

“He who wishes to secure the good of others, has already secured his own.” –Confucius

“Wisdom is knowing what to do next; virtue is doing it.” –David Starr Jordan

“Let the beauty of what you love be what you do.” –Rumi

“Art is never finished, only abandoned.” –Leonardo da Vinci

“Courtesy is as much a mark of a gentleman as courage.” –Theodore Roosevelt

“Each of us must be committed to maintaining the reputation of all of us. And all of us must be committed to maintaining the reputation of each of us.” –Jim Rohn

“Nobody can make you feel anything without your consent!” –Eleanor Roosevelt

By Dr. Charles D. Schmitz and Dr. Elizabeth A. Schmitz

The Cinderella story is a wonderful story. It does, indeed, warm the heart. It certainly inspires. Love is always inspiring! But the truth is, it is an idealized version of falling in love that rarely ever approximates the reality or the truth of what love really means — of what love might mean for a lifetime.

When young women hear the Cinderella story, they want to believe that their Prince Charming will sweep in with the wind. And for sure, every young man wants to find his Cinderella — someone to put the glass slipper on. But too many people look for this fairy tale version of love. Unfortunately, idealized love and real love are not always the same.

A dashing young man or a lovely young lady often sweep each other off their respective feet. Many of us have experienced this phenomenon. The spine tingles, the heart races, the face flushes, and the lips tremble. Love has feelings — and IS a feeling!

And here is the truth — being IN LOVE is easy, just like the Cinderella story — but making love last takes hard work. You have to do the “Simple Things” day in and day out, every day of your loving relationship. The “Simple Things Matter”! As we always say, successful love and marriage is an accumulation of doing the simple things.

Here is where Cinderella comes in. Falling in love at the stroke of midnight is easy. Putting on the glass slipper isn’t all that hard. But as most of you know, the beginning of love is easy, but the sustaining of love is the difficult part.

When you fall in love, it is important to understand that being in love is the easy part. The rest takes hard work. And because of this, our greatest challenge as folks who have studied successful marriage for 26 years is to convince those falling in love that Cinderella is only the beginning of love, not the end.

The truth is, the Cinderella version of love rarely ever happens. Somewhere along the way, someone forgot to tell those who think they are in love that life isn’t always fair, just, and beautiful all the time. Sometimes, the reality of love and the “Cinderella of love” are not the same. Trust us on this!

There is no doubt — love is grand. Falling in love is amongst the most important things we will ever do in our lifetime. Falling in love and being in love is a wonderful place to be. Make no mistake about that!

But here is where the truth comes in — to fall in love and be in love is not only the creation of an emotional attachment between two human beings, it is the rational connection between two people who choose to love each other for a lifetime. And that is serious business!

Now, back to our original notion about “Cinderella love.” What is the message about all this? It should be clear — true love is simple. True love is an accumulation of the simple things. True love is, in the end, about committing ourselves to doing those things that make love last for a lifetime.

Blinding ourselves to the true meaning of love — fooling ourselves into thinking that momentary love is real love — is to make the mistake that leads to the abrupt ending of so many marriages.

Being truly in love is not a temporary thing! Letting our emotions dictate our immediate actions when it comes to love and marriage is a mistake. True love comes with time. True love is not a Cinderella story; it is a story of commitment and love for a lifetime. True love transcends time. Go be in love. There is nothing like it.

Love well. Simple things matter in love and marriage.

“Don’t become a victim of yourself. Forget about the thief waiting in the alley; what about the thief in your mind?”

“It is not what happens that determines the major part of your future. What happens, happens to us all. It is what you do about what happens that counts.”

“Take advice, but not orders. Only give yourself orders. Abraham Lincoln once said, “Since I will be no one’s slave, I will be no one’s master.”

“Take time to gather up the past so that you will be able to draw from your experiences and invest them in the future.”

“Values were meant to be Costly. If it doesn’t cost much, we probably wouldn’t appreciate the value.”

Best Video Ever!!!

“If you learn to set a good sail, the wind that blows will always take you to the dreams you want, the income you want, and the treasures of mind, purse, and soul you want.” –Jim Rohn

“The greatest gift you can give to somebody is your own personal development. I used to say, “If you will take care of me, I will take care of you.” Now, I say, “I will take care of me for you if you will take care of you for me.” –Jim Rohn

“Greatness lies within everyone…it is birthed in the heart, grown in our dreams, but usually stays on life support after our friends and family assassinate it with their excuses.” –Doug Firebaugh

What would you do in this situation? Please watch this video and pray for Daniel Hauser.

Comment from Greg: My Dad had chemo for his cancer and it was very clear that the chemo took 20 years from him. He was NEVER the same after getting chemo. He lost most of his teeth, he was always sick, his color was gone, his life energy was greatly decreased by the chemo. He died of cancer even after having many chemo treatments.

“Ralph Waldo Emerson once asked what we would do if the stars only came out once every thousand years. No one would sleep that night, of course. The world would become religious overnight. We would be ecstatic, delirious, made rapturous by the glory of God. Instead the stars come out every night, and we watch television.” –Paul Hawkens

“If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much.” –Jim Rohn

“To see a world in a grain of sand
And heaven in a wild flower
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour.” –William Blake

“Eternity is in love with the productions of time.” –William Blake

“He who binds to himself a joy Does the winged life destroy; But he who kisses the joy as it flies Lives in eternity’s sun rise.” –William Blake

Someone once told me, “if i want to be free than I’ve got to be me, but first I better know who me is…” –Jim Rohn

“How do you feel about the past? It’s easy to carry the past as a burden, rather than a school, don’t let the past overwhelm you – let it instruct you.” –Jim Rohn

Download and adhere to this food guide and I promise you’ll lose weight and feel great! Cheers! -Rob

By Jeff Gitomer

1. Teach your kids that the word what doesn’t exist. When I call your name, you show up. (Control without having to say I’m the boss – because if you do, usually you’re not.) Tell them to respond “Coming!”

2. No middle managers. If you have something to tell a kid you pick your own ass up and tell them. Eliminate one kid telling another what to do… “Mommy said you have to clean your room now… nah, nah!”

3. Teach your kids that school is fun and they will love it from the time they can talk and understand (between two and three years old). Fight for them if they get a bad teacher. Fight like hell.

4. Encourage kids at all times. Everyone makes mistakes, even you. Try to support mistakes, instead of degrade, embarrass, or belittle.

5. Hug your kids often. Twice a day, at least. Tell them that you love them and that they make you proud. Praise them as often as possible. Like you wanted when you were a kid.

6. When your children talk to you, stop what you’re doing and look them in the eye. Sometimes children say more with their expression than their words.

6.5 Remember what you hated about your parents when you were a kid… and don’t do that to your kids.

“Let others lead small lives, but not you. Let others argue over small things, but not you. Let others cry over small hurts, but not you. Let others leave their future in someone else’s hands, but not you.” –Jim Rohn

“If you want to be respected by others the great thing is to respect yourself. Only by that, only by self-respect will you compel others to respect you.” –Fyodor Dostoevsky

“You can’t have a better tomorrow if you are thinking about yesterday all the time.” –Charles F. Kettering

“We are not here merely to make a living. We are here to enrich the world.” –Woodrow Wilson

“There is no chance, no destiny, no fate, that can hinder or control the firm resolve of a determined soul.” –Ella Wheeler Wilcox

“Mistakes are part of the dues one pays for a full life.” –Sophia Loren

“Lifestyle is the art of discovering ways to live uniquely.” –Jim Rohn

by Linda McPharlin

If you are finding success to be elusive and difficult to reach in relationships, money and careers, or happiness in general, you might be asking the wrong question. Often we as human beings ask “What’s in it for me?” whenever we are faced with any given opportunity. It seems to be this way in many cultures, certainly in business, and even embedded in our very nature.

Yet the what’s in it for me attitude never seems to work out the way we had hoped. We typically end up passing by relationships or opportunities that we deem to be ‘unprofitable’ somehow for us without really ever knowing what results would have been yielded. If we do jump on an opportunity, we may end up feeling shorted if our ‘return on investment’ does not end up being exactly what we thought it would be and miss seeing or taking advantage of other unexpected rewards.

What if we reversed this question of what’s in it for me to “what’s in ME for IT?” Instead of asking what will my returns be, ask what do I have to offer or contribute. This question sets a whole different tone—for evaluation, for course of action, and for performance.

It helps us to see if something is right for us in the first place. First, it makes us examine ourselves which is really the only thing we have control over anyway. It makes us take a good look at what we can offer and the best way to offer it whatever the situation or opportunity is. As we do this, we can clearly see if something is right for us to pursue based on who we are and what we have to contribute.

It helps us to have a positive course of action. As we place our focus on the opportunity, relationship, or even just our life rather than on how we feel or what we are getting, we can act in a generous and powerful way that lends itself to whatever we are contributing to with integrity.

Lastly, this all inspires us to be at our very best. With the reward essentially now being shifted to our level and effectiveness of contribution, we will be trying our very best to give all that we can give. Not only are we in top form, but we are guaranteed success because our measure stick for success is now based on our effort and our contribution. This becomes our reward, and it is something that we actually have complete control over. As a special bonus, the relationship, the project, the career and money, or again even just our lives in general become successful in popular opinion as well because of our choices, our positive course of action, and our inspired performance.

Why not give it a try? Instead of asking what’s in it for me, ask What’s in ME for it?

“The potential of the average person is like a huge ocean unsailed, a new continent unexplored, a world of possibilities waiting to be released and channeled toward some great good.” –Brian Tracy

“I have always believed, and I still believe, that whatever good or bad fortune may come our way we can always give it meaning and transform it into something of value.” –Hermann Hesse

“Happiness is experienced when your life gives you what you are willing to accept.” –Ken Keyes Jr.

“Life is not always what one wants it to be, but to make the best of it as it is, is the only way of being happy.” –Jennie Jerome Churchill

Author Unknown

A couple weeks ago I was standing out on a cold evening in New York City waiting for a cab to come take me to a nightclub. After about 5 minutes of waiting, I was picked up by a middle-eastern gentleman in his 30’s, and he was clearly angry. Swear words left and right about how horrible New Yorkers were. I knew my cab ride would only be about 10 minutes and there was a part of me that wanted to be silent and just move on with my life, but I also wanted to try and connect.

I asked the man what the issue was, and after some beating around the bush, he told me that he had just come from JFK airport without a customer. For those that don’t know, this is basically $70 in lost fare, which is a fairly big deal. I tried my best to commisserate and share in his frustration. Over the course of that cab ride, what started as pure anger slowly shifted to inquiry. He mentioned that he had read an article a while back which said that the happiest people are the ones that give, so he hoped he’d have more chances to give in his life. I was really starting to enjoy being in the presence of this introspective man! We continued talking about why giving is so beneficial both to giver and receiver and different ways to practice it.

As we arrived at my destination, I paid my fare by credit card (with generous tip), but didn’t want to stop there. I pulled out an extra $20 and said:

’sir, since we’ve been talking about giving this whole time, I wanted to share that feeling of giving with you. I’ve already paid my fare, but here’s an extra little bit. you can keep it if you want, since you’re already down $70 from jfk. But, if you want to experience the power of the gift, then tell the next passenger in this cab that their ride is a gift from another and they can share their gratitude in whatever way they wish.’

I thought I was being a pretty cool guy at this point! but that’s when the cabbie blew me away. He turned toward me, tears in his eyes, and he says:

’sir, i have better idea. you give that $20 to a homeless person around here and i will gift the next passenger with free ride myself.’

wow. this man was literally yelling obscenities to me 10 minutes ago. i got out of the car and walked around for a bit trying to find someone to get a meal for before heading to my destination.

was an absolute honor meeting that cabbie and learning the lesson of how everyone is capable of giving and totally flooring another with their generosity.

Here’s an uplifting video that Jill Konrath of www.sellingtobigcompanies.com sent me. Hope you enjoy. Cheers! -Rob