BATTING MY EYELASHES AT YOU

A baby camel asked his mother, "Why do we have such large hoofs on our feet?"

She turned to him. "God made us that way for a very special reason," and she began her explanation. "The big hoofs are to keep us from sinking into the sand."

"Oh! So why do we have long eyelashes?"

"It's to protect our eyes from the sand."

"Why the big humps?"

"That is to store fat and have enough energy to go long distances in the hot desert!"

"I see!" the baby camel stretched his neck and looked up at his mother, "The big hoofs are to keep from sinking into the sand, the long eyelashes are to keep the sand out of our eyes, and the humps are to store energy to travel long distances.then what are we doing in this cage in the middle of a zoo?"

Like the camel, I had asked the same kind of questions. When my blindness set in, I initially locked myself in a cage of self-pity and bitterness.

Weary from pacing within that gloomy cage, something nudged me to see beyond my circumstance and unfortunate plight.

Heavens! What was I thinking? Those bars were self-imposed. But worst of all, I'd supported them with the cold metal of my negative attitude.

Eventually, eagerness to leave my stuffy cell of discontent prompted me to open my ears to hear a reassuring whisper--God had created me for much more.

Itching to break free, I broke down those bars and stepped out into the desert of life. I trudged through the heat with determination and drive. I endured the blistering sun with perseverance and tenacity. I quenched my thirst with fresh inspiration and encouragement. And the hooves of confidence kept me from sinking into the sand of insecurity.

Thinking ahead, I made sure I'd stored a healthy supply of wisdom and positive attitude to take me through the long haul.

Goodness gracious. Each time I reached another point in my journey, my eyes saw a whole new world with opportunities to make a difference. Best of all, I was delighted with the affirmation that I was indeed created for much more!

Bars come in all sizes and shapes. Some are physical; others are emotional or even mental. But none can withstand the force of determination that breaks them down. The effort is worth it and the results, simply amazing!

So, batting my long eyelashes to keep out the sand of discouragement, I challenge you: Step back and peek at what bars limit you. Take a deep breath, Break them down, and emerge into the freshness of a new life.

By Janet Perez Eckles

Commitment Precedes Vision

In life, many thoughts are born in the course of a moment, an hour, a day. Some are dreams, some visions. Often, we are unable to distinguish between them.

To some, they are the same; however, not all dreams are visions. Much energy is lost in fanciful dreams that never bear fruit. But visions are messages from the Great Spirit, each for a different purpose in life. Consequently, one person's vision may not be that of another.

To have a vision, one must be prepared to receive it, and when it comes, to accept it. Thus when these inner urges become reality, only then can visions be fulfilled.

The spiritual side of life knows everyone's heart and who to trust. How could a vision ever be given to someone to harbor if that person could not be trusted to carry it out.

The message is simple: commitment precedes vision.


- High Eagle

The Golden Hour by Brian Tracy

You become what you think about most of the time. And the most important part of each day is what you think about at the beginning of that day.

Start Your Day Right
Take 30 minutes each morning to sit quietly and to reflect on your goals. You'll find when you read the biographies and autobiographies of successful men and women that almost every one of them began their upward trajectory to success when they began getting up early in the morning and spending time with themselves.

Feed Your Mind with Positive Ideas
This is called the Golden Hour. The first hour sets the tone for the day. The things that you do in the first hour prepare your mind and set you up for the entire day. During the first thirty to sixty minutes, take time to think and review your plans for the future.

Use Your Quiet Time Effectively
Here are four things that you can do during that quiet time in the morning.

Number one is to review your plans for accomplishing your goals and change your plans if necessary.

Number two is to think of better ways to accomplish your goals. As an exercise, assume that the way you're going about it is totally wrong and imagine going about it totally differently. What would you do different from what you're doing right now?

Number three, reflect on the valuable lessons that you have learned and are learning as you move toward your goals.

Number four is to practice daily visualization. Calmly visualize your goal as a reality. Close your eyes, relax, smile, and see your goal as though it were already a reality. Rewrite your major goals every day in the present tense. Rewrite them as though they already existed. Write "I earn X dollars." "I have a net worth of X." "I weigh a certain number of pounds." This exercise of writing and rewriting your goals every day is one of the most powerful you will ever learn.

Fasten Your Seatbelt
Your life will start to take off at such a speed that you'll have to put on your seatbelt. Remember, the starting point for achieving financial success is the development of an attitude of unshakable confidence in yourself and in your ability to reach your goals. Everything we've talked about is a way of building up and developing your belief system until you finally reach the point where you are absolutely convinced that nothing can stop you from achieving what you set out to achieve.

Everything Counts
No one starts out with this kind of an attitude, but you can develop it using the law of accumulation. Everything counts. No efforts are ever lost. Every extraordinary accomplishment is the result of thousands of ordinary accomplishments that no one recognizes or appreciates. The greatest challenge of all is for you to concentrate your thinking single-mindedly on your goal and by the law of attraction, you will, you must inevitably draw into your life the people, circumstances and opportunities you need to achieve your goals.

Become a Living Magnet
Once you've mastered yourself and your thinking, you will become a living magnet for ideas and opportunities to become wealthy. It's worked for me and for every successful person I know. It will work for you if you'll begin today, now, this very minute, to think and talk about your dreams and goals as though they were already a reality. When you change your thinking, you will change your life. You will put yourself firmly on the road to financial independence.

Action Exercises
Now, here are two things you can do every single day to keep your mind focused on your financial goals:

First, get up every morning a little bit earlier and plan your day in advance. Take some time to think about your goals and how you can best achieve them. This sets the tone for the whole day.

Second, reflect on the valuable lessons you are learning each day as you work toward your goals. Be prepared to correct your course and adjust your actions. Be absolutely convinced that you are moving rapidly toward your goals, no matter what happens temporarily on the outside. Just hang in there!

Profits Are Better Than Wages by Jim Rohn

My mentor, when I was 25 years old, dropped a phrase on me that changed my life forever when he said, "profits are better than wages. Wages will make you a living, profits can make you a fortune." You know it is a bit difficult to get rich on wages, but anybody can get rich on profits. Profits change your whole attitude, even if you start part-time. Whether it's part time on your entrepreneurial business, network marketing company or service business.

It can be a landscape business in the summer or hanging Christmas lights in the winter. It can be training, consulting or tutoring. It can be your hobby such as painting, writing, crafts, woodworking, computers or cooking. But once you start investing even part time effort into your own business, you will find how much more exciting it is to get up in the morning and go to work on your fortune, even if you're only spending a few hours a week doing it.

How empowering it is to be able to go to work on your fortune every day rather than going to work to pay the rent. Now - it is noble to go to work to pay the rent, but if you could also parcel out part of your time - go to work to make your fortune. Your whole attitude changes; your spirit changes. It is in your voice. It is in your face. It is in your gestures. And then you can say, "I am now working full-time on my job and part-time on my fortune because I found a way to make profits." Wow!

And I will know what you mean.

To Your Success,

Jim Rohn

Job Well Done

Be inspired by perfection but don't be stopped by it. Seek to
get it perfect, yet even when it won't be perfect go ahead
and get it done.

Set your standards high, but not so high that you fail to
get anything accomplished. Give your very best to every
effort by following through with whatever you start.

You can always think of excuses and scenarios for possible
disappointment. But excuses and worries won't accomplish
anything.

Just go ahead, step right in and get started. You'll make
some mistakes along the way and have the valuable
opportunity to learn much from them.

Commit to your intentions and act on them. Give effort and
energy to what you value most.

At every opportunity, make a difference. And know the sweet
fulfillment of a job well done.

Give ......

There is a body of water in Israel that is actually below sea level. Water constantly trickles INTO it, but, because of the law of gravity, nothing can flow OUT of it. Do you know the name of this famous lake? It's called the Dead Sea. It's called this because the mineral deposits have accumulated to such an extent that no living thing could survive in this water. The water is literally dead.

Contrast this to what happens with "living water." When you think of the term living water" the image that comes to mind is a rushing river or bubbling spring that is FLOWING. It's filled with life and movement. It doesn't just "receive," but is also giving" simultaneously. There is LIFE there.

There's a valuable illustration here. Many of us believe that we need to RECEIVE more of something in order to be happy. Whether what we desire is money or love or something else, we think that we need MORE of it in order to be fulfilled. As a result of this, we begin to operate in fear and therefore don't GIVE anything because we're afraid that we won't have enough. The result? Like the Dead Sea, we become lifeless.

When we don't GIVE, we die.

Life is meant to flow. When a pool of anything stops flowing (giving), it becomes stagnant. Stagnant water breeds disease and death. It can't breathe. It can't receive any more. If nothing is flowing OUT, there's no room for anything else to come IN.

The solution? Give.

As you give, you WILL receive. It's a universal law. You see it at work in nature. You see it at work in the economy. You see it at work everywhere, because it's true.

We've somehow been deceived into believing that if we DON'T give, we'll have MORE. Or we're afraid that if we DO give, that we won't have anything left. On one hand, this seems to make sense. But it doesn't work. Because when we don't give, we shut off the flow of what's coming in.
 


If you truly desire to receive more of something, start giving it away. I know this sounds crazy, but it works. If you want someone to be kind to you, be kind to them. If you want love in your life, love someone. If you want money, give some money away. If you want joy in your life, give joy to someone else.

The universe only responds when we act. Take the first step and watch miracles begin to happen. Too often we're waiting for something to come to us first. Take the initiative. Give and you WILL receive.

HIT BY AN ANGEL

Have you ever wondered why you are here on this planet? Sounds like a simple enough question almost foolish. Everyday in someway angels bring us messages. You might be thinking I just left Starbucks with my Venti Latte and I did not see or feel any angels hovering about. Look back and think did you put a tip in the tip jar? Giving is living.

For me the more I give the more I get to keep. How about when someone cuts you off in traffic? Do you feel violated and angry? How could they do that to me? Or do you just let it go and realize that this person driving that vehicle is like many in our world just rushing, rushing, and rushing to where? The grave of course. Be grateful that the driver did not hit you and you had the mental faculties and maybe a guardian angel to adapt to the situation and maintain control of your vehicle.

Negative co-workers are angels also. They can knock you flat on your butt if you let them. What can I learn from their actions? How can I heal or help them without them knowing.

Negative co-workers are like angry customers if you run a business. They are gifts from the angels.

Or a better way to say it is these can be tools to improve yourself, your business, or your performance. What we learn from them may enhance our own lives. How I see people is how I treat them and how I treat them is how they become.

As far as Starbucks, I personally have never had a negative experience with them. Maybe that is because I NEVER EXPECTED TO. The last time I left Iraq in 2004 it was all I could do to keep from getting locked up or as they say in L.A. 5150 which means you are nuts.

On the flight out of Kuwait the attendants knew I was a bit stressed and I was talking to one of them and she took me in the back of the aircraft where they all where staying. They nurtured me and never left me alone. Maybe they were afraid, I doubt it, and I think they saw a wounded soul hurting like I had never hurt before. Yes I should've been evacuated to Landstuhl in Germany but I disliked hospitals because they always want to keep me for further evaluation. Besides I was a civilian now and I don't even know how I got on that flight to the U.S. but I did and I resigned as soon as I got home. So no psych ward for me.

What did I learn? There are angels everywhere. We can be angels if we choose to. Life is a gift, a great blessing. There are many stories I could tell about getting hit by angels from Africa, Germany and even my own house.

Have I seen real angels? Yes. I mean really felt the presence of and seen real angels? Yes. Did I think I was out of my mind? Yes.

Do you believe in angels? I have found that I like to have faith in angels. It feels better than no faith at all.

Look for your angels.