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Thursday September 21, 2006
MOTIVATION
Are Your Goals Exciting?
This may sound like a strange question, but are you really excited about your goals?
Of course, I'm making the assumption that you have already invested the time to think about what you want your life to be like and identified some of your goals in several areas. If not, please do this immediately. If you don't know where you're going, how will you know when you get there.
Having written goals will change your life, I guarantee it! Spend some time thinking about what you'd like your life to be like. For the sake of this exercise, let's set goals you'd like to have accomplished one year from now. Of course, you can set shorter and longer goals as well.
What would you like for your relationships? How about your health, career, and finances? How about your mind and emotions? What would you like to experience? What would you like to do, be, or have?
Invest some time now to identify these things and write them down. This will greatly increase the likelihood of your accomplishing them. If you want to know more about this, there are lots of books, including mine, to help you. That's not really the topic of this story, however, I'm asking you now to revisit your goals, particularly your short-term, six month to one year ones.
Do they make you want to jump out of bed each day eager to get going? Recently, I was feeling "less than great." I was even bordering on becoming depressed, something I rarely experience. I felt unmotivated, and wound up being pretty sick for several weeks.
Upon closer examination, and because I agree with Plato that an unexamined life is not worth living, I realized one of the things that I had done was to reset some of my short-term goals to be "more realistic."
I think I believed what I was hearing about the current economic situation. Of course, some of what "they" are saying is true. Some people are experiencing an economic downturn.
Interestingly enough, the Horchow Catalog, a collection of some of the highest priced, one-of-a-kind items you can find, is expecting another year of double-digit growth. This is as compared to a 1 or 2% for the rest of the catalog industry. They were quoted as saying that "there are always well-healed people willing to pay for fine things." Obviously, not everyone believes in the economic downturn!
What I had noticed about myself was that in the interest of being realistic, I had lowered my expectations. While this may seem like a reasonable thing to do, in reality, it left me totally uninspired and feeling pretty unmotivated about my goals.
For example, if you have a goal of making enough money to "pay the bills" how exciting is that? Is that going to make you jump out of bed in the morning saying, "oh wow, I can't wait to get going, so I can make money and pay the bills!" I doubt it.
When I understood what I was doing, I immediately set new goals. I set goals that were way beyond my reach. Goals that were huge enough to really get my juices going. Now, when I think about my new, bigger goals, I get excited just imaging what it would feel like reaching them and what my life would be like having accomplished them.
I get jazzed just thinking about my new income goals, for example. And even if I don't fully reach it, I know I will go way beyond what I might have accomplished and will feel better along the way. After all, isn't feeling good what it's all about.
Now, go get your journal, and let's start setting some new goals for the coming year. Following is a simple exercise to help you become clear about your goals and begin creating the life you've always wanted.
1. Write what you don't want. This will help you get clear about what you do want. Afterwards, you may want to throw this list away.
2. Write what you want. List everything you want to do, be, and have for the upcoming year and beyond.
3. Write each goal in the form of an affirmation. Do goals in all the major areas of your life - spirituality, health, relationships, social, career, things, and money.
4. Next to each one, write why you want this and how you will feel when you have accomplished it.
5. Write at least one action you can take right now to move toward your goal. What simple step can you take immediately (today)?
Each day, read your list of goals, concentrating on the feelings associated with having them. Feelings like freedom, value, love, secure, safe, prosperous, etc. The more you can feel the feelings your goal will produce, the faster you can draw it to you.
After you reread your goals and are feeling the good feelings associated with having them, ask yourself, "What is the next action I can take to move toward this?" Do this daily and watch your life change.
By Jim Donovan
HUMOR
A WALK IN THE WOODS
An Atheist was walking through the woods...
"What majestic trees!
What powerful rivers!
What beautiful animals!" he said to himself.
As he was walking alongside the river he heard a rustling in the bushes behind him. He turned to look and he saw a 7 foot Grizzly charge toward him.
He looked again, and the bear was even closer. He tripped and fell to the ground. He rolled over to pick himself up but saw the bear right on top of him, reaching for him with his left paw and raising his right paw to strike him.
At that moment the Atheist cried out "Oh my God!..."
Time stopped.
The bear froze.
The forest was silent.
As a bright light shone upon the man, a voice came out of the sky,
"You deny my existence for all these years, teach others I don't exist, and even credit the creation to a cosmic accident. Do you expect me to help you out of this predicament?". "Am I to count on you as a believer?".
The atheist looked directly into the light, "It would be hypocritical of me to suddenly ask you to treat me as a Christian now, but could you perhaps make the BEAR a Christian?".
"Very Well", said the voice. The light went out. The sounds of the forest resumed.
The bear dropped his right paw, brought both paws together, bowed his head and spoke,
"Lord bless this food, which we are about to receive from thy bounty through Christ our Lord. Amen"
SCRIPTURE
EPHESIANS 1:21-23
21. Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:
22. And hath put all [things] under his feet, and gave him [to be] the head over all [things] to the church,
23. Which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all.
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IT’S ABOUT HIM – NOT US!
Until Copernicus showed up in 1543 we were able to claim, “The universe revolves around us.” And what Copernicus did for the earth, God does for our souls. He points us to His Son and says, “At the center of all this, Christ rules.” At a time when the theme of many preachers is “what God will do for you,” Paul points out that God doesn’t exist to make a big deal out of us; we exist to make a big deal out of Him. Max Lucado writes: “We struggle with this idea because we’ve been demanding our way since infancy. ‘ I want a spouse who makes me happy, co-workers who respect me and ask my opinion, weather that suits me, a government that serves me, and a God who gives me everything I want.’ It’s all about me! What if an orchestra followed that approach, each artist clamoring for self-expression? Tubas blasting non-stop, percussionists pounding to get attention, the trumpeter standing on the conductor’s stool tooting his horn. Harmony? Hardly. Happiness? Not at all. Who enjoys confusion or contributing to a cacophony? What would happen if we each took our place, played our part, followed the score He gave us, and made His song our song? What if there was less “here’s what I want” and more “what do you suppose God wants?” Paul answers, “Beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, [we] are changed into the same image from glory to glory” (2 Co 3:18). Getting our eyes off ourselves and onto Christ makes us more like Him. It changes us – and couldn’t we use a change?
RECIPE
MAGIC CONFETTI SNOWBALLS
Ingredients
1 cup Butter, softened, no substitutes
½ cup Sugar
2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
2-2 ½ cups all-purpose Flour
1-1 1/3 cup Hershey kissables (chocolate candies)
2 Tbsp. Powdered Sugar
Steps
Pre-Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Beat butter, sugar and vanilla in large bowl until well blended. Gradually blend in flour. (Mixture will be crumbly, but will hold a shape if squeezed.). Stir in candies.
Shape mixture into 1-inch balls. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until set but not browned.
Cool slightly. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. While still slightly warm, roll in powdered sugar. Cool completely. Store in tightly covered container.
Roll again in powdered sugar just before serving.
Makes 48
GOOD LINKS
LINKS FOR KIDS TODAY
http://www.msichicago.org/exhibit/U505/virtualtour/photo_tour/index.html
http://www.kidsdomain.com/kids/links/Salute_to_Veterans.html
http://www.heacham1.freeserve.co.uk/carousel/index.htm
http://007protection.com
http://www.radiotheatre.org
http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/primer/java/scienceopticsu/powersof10/index.html
HELP THREE KIDS
People to People has invited 3 kids to travel and study in FRANCE, ITALY AND GREECE in 2007. Founded in 1956 by President D. Eisenhower, People to People is celebrating 50 years of International travel. They want them to be a Student Ambassador. Student Ambassadors from 50 states have journeyed to more than 40 countries on all seven continents through People to People.
Many of the alumni go on to assume leadership roles in their communities and state that their experiences set them apart during the competitive college admissions process.
Nearly 200,000 students have traveled with People To People. They will have 20 days of rewarding and exciting activities in France, Italy and Greece while earning academic credit and making lifelong friends.
Through exposure to new cultures and the benefits of International travel, They will gain:
Confidence and leadership - Cultural understanding - World awareness - Friendship and memories-
It is going to cost $21,000 Dollars to send the 3 kids. They will be doing fund raising with the group and I'm sure car washes, but need any help you can give.
Visit here to hear from one of the Mom’s and get more info:
http://community.adlandpro.com/forums/thread/464010.aspx
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY
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God Bless You,
Mahlon (Mel) Grube, Administrator
The Word For Today
1-702-453-7853
admin@thewordfortodaynewsletter.com
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