Happy 2010 !!!

This helped me. Thought
you might could use it.

It is January 1, 2010.

No? Well, imagine ‘as if’
it is.

Look back on 2009.

What did you accomplish?

What successes did you
experience?

What did you do that
you’d always wanted to
do?

What changes did you
make that you’ve always
thought about making?

What actions did you
take that caused those
positive changes?

How happy are you with
your life on Jan. 1, 2010?

What is making you smile
and feeling amazingly
grateful as you think back
over the past year?

Now, get you a notepad,
legal pad, steno notebook,
journal.

Write it all down.

Start carrying this with
you and reviewing in
often.

Let it be your constant
companion.

If anyone asks you
why you’re carrying it
around, tell them,
“Oh, its just a blank
book (pad) that I’m filling
up with some pretty
amazing things. That’s
all.”

Or, like a friend mine
says, “Oh, its just my
roadmap.”

Then, leave them
wondering what you’re
up to.

I’m seeing amazing
things happening in
your life, looking
‘back’ on 2009! I’m
seeing dreams
fulfilled.

What are you seeing?

Thanks for letting me
be a part of your life.

I appreciate you with love,

Michael

John, my farmer friend,
taught me a lot that day
about the seed and the
stalks. Kind of like you
and me. We too start as a
microscopic seed.

Later that next spring, I
was out with John again.
He had recently tilled the
soil and planted more
corn seed in the field.

We were standing there,
leaning against his truck
and I said, “So now you’ve
got SEED in this field?”

John looked at me kinda
funny and said, “No, Michael,
I have CORN in this field.”

I said, “But John, I don’t see
anything but dirt. Then when
I look a little closer, I DO see
some seed. You WILL HAVE
corn, but now you’ve only
got SEED.”

John says, “No Michael.
Farmers don’t see it that
way. You see, we don’t
call it ‘planting seed’; we
call it ‘planting corn’ or
whatever other crop we
are intending to get.

Jokingly, I protested and
said, “Well, John, that may
be how you say it, but that’s
now how I see it. I don’t see
anything but dirt and seed.”

John says, “Well, Michael,
I see corn. Big tall stalks
of corn. Taller than you and
I. And that is what I’ll see
until harvest time. That’s
how a farmer sees it and that’s
how a farmer says it.”

Its funny what you can learn
from a farmer. He sees
what isn’t there except in
his imagination. Yet he
knows what will be even
when you can’t see it. I
saw dirt. John saw corn.

Amazing isn’t it?!

Plant the seed of what
you want an abundance of.
See the harvest even
before it physically appears.
Call it what you intend for
it to be. Care for it and
water it with love.
Then, the only thing left
is to gather the harvest
when that time comes.

Hmmmm………

Have a super happy
new years!

I appreciate you with great love,

Michael

How To ‘Faith’ The Future

I am grateful for the comments that were made to my last post. Divine inspiration continues this morning regarding this different perspective to a common yet misunderstood universal principle.

What Do You Think You Are ‘Facing’ In The Future

Imagine your future being dictated by all that is happening in the world right now. The economy. The government. Your job or business. Your relationships. Perhaps your children.

Where is it all going? To what end is it all headed?

Fear and faith are both processes of belief. Fear believes that something bad is going to happen. Faith proactively believes that something good is going to happen in your future.

Both of these belief processes preempt your future. They give you insight into your future. They foretell, prophesy and predict your future.

My great-grandfather was known to arise every morning and tell, ‘Mami’ (Katherine, my great grandmother) that he sensed that something bad was going to happen today. Guess what. He was never disappointed. He feared that day and the events that would happen. His fear was realized. Not through ‘fate’. But through the believing process of fear.

Your future is going to be ‘faced’ with fear or faith. Both produce future outcomes.

A buddy of mine was recently going through some difficult situations. He told me that he just couldn’t ‘face’ what was about to happen in his family. He said, “It’s going to be hard.”

I suggested that he NOT ‘face’ his future. By the look on his face and the fear I heard in his voice and words, he was about to project fear into his future. He was preparing himself for certain doom and gloom; failure.

I suggested that instead of ‘facing’ his future with fear and anticipation of a negative outcome, that he ‘FAITH’ his future. At first he was bewildered and didn’t have a clue as to what I was talking about. After I explained he ‘got it’ and said he would act on what I suggested.

I hear many people tell me that ‘faithing’ the future is difficult at best and usually doesn’t work. They ask the question, “Why is it so hard to have faith and believe for a positive, fruitful, prosperous, happy outcome?” That is a fair question. The good news is, I know exactly ‘why’ it is easier to ‘fear’ the future and not ‘faith’ the future.

Ready? Hold on to your hat, toupee or wig if you have one on. This is going to be profound. Life changing. Earth shattering. O.k. I’m just joking. It isn’t profound at all. It can be life changing though.

The reason that ‘fearing’ the future is SOOO easy is, we are all good at it. I mean, we’ve had a lot of practice ‘fearing the future.’ Think about it. How good are you at flying a Boeing 777? Unless you are one of those rare few people who fly a Boeing 777 (I actually have a friend who works for American Airlines who is a pilot on one of these aeronatautical behomeths) you wouldn’t have much success in even getting it to the runway.

On the other hand, if you are like the majority of adults in this country, you don’t think twice about getting into your car and going anywhere you want to go. Why can you drive a car so easily and not fly a Boeing 777? Easy answer. You’ve driven a car thousands of times. You’ve never flown a Boeing 777.

Well, my guess is, you’ve rarely made the conscious decision to ‘faith’ your future. The reason ‘fearing’ negative things into your life and seeing them come to pass, is so easy, you are good at it. It came with practice.

The very fact that you’ve seen fear work so predictably PROVES my whole point here. If you’ve not consciously disciplined yourself to practice faith in everything in your life then, you don’t know whether it will work or not. Just because you tried it once and nothing happened like you wanted it to, is no reason why it won’t work.

Go sit in the cockpit of the Boeing 777. Take a look around. You don’t have a clue as to what all you’re looking at. What will be your response to the suggestion that you should take it up for a spin around town? You can’t do it.

‘Faithing’ your future is simply making a conscious choice that you are going to get control over your conscious mind. The conscious mind is the gatekeeper of the subconscious, the soul, your heart and your spirit.

The ancient wisdom says, “Guard your heart with all diligence; for from it flow ALL of the issues of life.” So ‘how’ do your guard your heart?

You do it by closing the gate of your conscious mind and carefully monitoring ‘who’ and ‘what’ you allow inside.

I was in Dallas recently at the very glitzy and trendy ‘W’ Hotel. It was around 9:30 p.m. As we were parking, I noticed a line that went on for at least a city block of people trying to get into the ‘Ghost Bar’ atop the hotel. A guy with a black suit on, no neck, at least a size 54 coat, bald head and sinister looking eyes, was determining who got in and who didn’t.

This guy is called (at least in my book) ‘the gatekeeper.’

I don’t know what his criteria was for you getting in or not. However, he had a rope that he only removed and allowed you through if you met his criteria.

Stand guard over your thoughts. You might even need to make some arrests of thoughts that got through when you weren’t paying close enough attention (take those thoughts captive). Allow in thoughts that are good, that are positive, that are of a good report, that will produce for you positive results in your future.

‘Faith’ your future by talking about all that you DO want while avoiding talking about what you DON’T want. Stop predicting your future through the belief process of fear. Start deciding what you want and only allow thoughts that positively support that.

Whatever you allow through the gate of your conscious mind will determine what you get in every area (all the issues) of life.

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What Are You ‘Faithing’ In Your Life?

I have a habit of waking up at 3:33 a.m. much of the time. This morning was one of those times. It was almost as if I awoke to my own internal voice. It was asking me, “What are you ‘faithing’ in your life?”

As you likely know, the ancient biblical character, Job, went through a period of his life that most of us wouldn’t wish on an enemy. He started out quite wealthy with an amazing family and ‘dream life.’ Things turned for him quickly and he lost everything.

Though this story teaches many lessons, the greatest lesson is taught when, in his despair, Job states, “The thing that I’ve feared most has come upon me.” In this one statement, Job lets us in on the secret of what indeed happened to him.

As I was pondering the question that alarmed my brain and body into waking up early this morning, I found the next thought showed up as a follow up statement. It was profound (at least to me . Ready? Here it is.

“The thing that I ‘faith’ most will come upon me.”

Fear is a belief. It is a belief that something bad is lurking in the future. Faith is belief that something favorable is in your future. Fear is exercised through worry. Focusing on the negative outcome. Faith is exercised by creative imagination. Focusing on the desired outcome.

Faith takes a decision. A decision to determine what you want and visualizing, imagining, expecting and anticipating it to show up in your life.

Why is it so easy to ‘manifest’ the result of fear? Why is it so difficult to ‘manifest’ the result of faith?

Simply put. Anything you have done repeatedly is easier to do than that which is done rarely.

We are good at manifesting the result of fear because most of us have spent out lives doing it. Our minds and emotions are attacked with thoughts and feelings of fear. Then we see the result of that fear.

The future is an illusion, just as the past is. You are not living your past presently. It is impossible. Likewise, you are not living your future presently.

‘Reality’ is only what is present, now. Reality is not what you believe will happen tomorrow. Reality is not even what you remember that has happened in the past.

Faith is a tool that we use to determine what our ‘one day’ reality will be, just as is fear. Logically and reasonably, faith is the tool that creates what we DO want while fear is a tool that produces what we DON’T want.

Faith is exercised by controlling your self dialogue. Our self dialogue is creating pictures of future outcomes. Faith must be consciously chosen and then exercised.

Here is how you exercise faith.

1. Recognize that you do have the power to control your own mind.

Many people allow what the ancient Chinese called ‘monkey mind’. They are exercising no control over their thoughts. You can control your mind. You have the power to direct your thoughts

2. Choose to become conscious of what you think about most of the time.

If you’re experiencing a negative situation, recognize that you are doing that. Then consciously decide what you want your outcomes to be and starting focusing on it within yourself.

3. Begin to direct your self talk. I call this, on purpose thinking. Millions of people around the world use affirmations. Affirmations are used to direct your conscious thoughts will affecting your subconscious thoughts.

Start practicing ‘faithing’. Make a commitment to start thinking positive thoughts rather than have your life ruled by negative thinking.

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What To Do When You Don’t Know, ‘What To Do’

I don’t have to tell you that, ‘life is tough’ these days. I watch the percentage ticker on Yahoo during the day that shows the loss or gain of the Dow Jones Industrials. Sometimes I wonder, how much can it lose in a day? It is staggering. I’ve never seen anything like this in my half century on the planet.

There have only a few times in my life that fear has gripped my heart due to breaking events in the news. I was a 5 year old boy when President John F. Kennedy was brutally assassinated just 60 miles from our home in Northeast Texas.

I’ve blocked a lot of my childhood out of my mind but I do remember that day.

I had been at the local park just three houses down from where we lived on east Rosedale Street. I had rushed home in our little 900 square foot home that 5 of us lived in. (My dad told me that the monthly mortgage payment was $71).

I raced through the front door and was on a mission to retrieve something out of my bedroom. As I ran in the house, my mother was standing there ironing. The black and white Motorola was on across the room. My mom was crying.

I had the presence of mind to stop and ask mom what was wrong. She said, ‘Honey, the president has just been killed in downtown Dallas.’ To this day, I can only remember a few toys and few other vague events that took place in my childhood. However, that moment will be etched upon my heart forever.

Those of you that are at, near or older than the age I am, 50, will likely remember where you were when the first space shuttle blew up moments as it streaked into the Florida sky. That was back in the mid 80s. I was working as a young executive in a construction company in Dallas. I’d recently graduated from college and happened to be going into eat with the owner of our company when the news came.

Of course many of us know exactly where we were when when the planes hit the towers in New York and so many thousands lost their lives.

In those times, you feel hopeless and definitely helpless. You don’t know what to do.

As an ordained minister, I’ve been called upon a few hundred times to speak at funeral or memorial services. There is a little story that I tell that always helps others to know what to do and especially, how to feel when someone has left us for the life hereafter.

The story is one of a little girl who is late coming home from school one day. After waiting for an hour past the time she should have been home, the mother is clueless as to what to do. Within about 5 more minutes, the little girl opens the front door and comes in. Her mother is frantic and asks her where she has been.

The little girl innocently looks up at her mom and begins explaining. She says, “Mommy, I was walking home from school and I saw Susie sitting on the curb crying. I had to stop and help.”

Her mom says, “Sweetie, that is so kind of you even though I’ve been worried sick when you didn’t show up on time. Were you able to talk to her and encourage her?” The sweet little girl looked up at her mom and said, “No mommy. I just sat down with her and helped her cry.”

My heart goes out today to the thousands of people who are feeling the devastating effects of what is happening in our world. Not just here but around the globe.

If you find yourself in a place of not knowing what to do, I’m going to give you some sage advice that my grandmother gave me hundreds of times in my life. Ready? It is profound. Don’t be fooled by its simplicity.

O.k. Here it is:  “Do what you KNOW to do”.

Here’s what I KNOW to do in hard times.

1. Keep believing in your own dreams

2. Get your dream, goal or whatever it is you want, in your imagination and simply do what the great Les Brown has instructed thousands around the world to do. While holding it in your imagination, say, “It’s possbile!”

3. Consciously confront negative thoughts and kick them out of your brain like you were fighting off an instruder who had just broken into your home and was about to attack one of your children (or grandchild). As the biblical command says, “Take every thought captive.” Make an arrest on self defeating and negative thoughts. Your mind is going to be tempted again and again to picture negative outcomes. Arrest them. Cuff them. Throw them in jail.

4. Replace those thoughts by welcoming thoughts and images of what you DO WANT in your life. Force yourself to focus on the positive. You might need to get out your journal or dream board. I created a ‘mind movie’ for myself and uploaded it to YouTube (go see mine at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6ER16vuK-I

5. Get a book that you know is going to make you feel better and read some or all of it. If you don’t have a book like that handy, go read some of the transcripts of Neville Goddard (go here

http://www.realneville.com/text_archive_pdf.htm

6. Watch a great movie. Go get the movie, The Legend of Bagger Vance or Patch Adams or any other movie you know will lift you up and make you feel better. It is important that you not only ‘think positive’ but that you ‘feel positive’ as well.

You know what to do to keep yourself or get yourself back into a positive, hopeful frame of mind. We all just need some direction and encouragement.

Even as an author, speaker and entreprenuer of personal empowerment products and services, I can find myself bewildered from time to time, not knowing what to do. The temptation to get down on yourself, become cynical or critical knocks on my door frequentyly. You want to blame someone for your pain. “If only they would help me”, “if only they hadn’t treated me so bad”. These are thoughts that all of us are tempted to think. Even if you brood on them for extended periods, still take the action to interrupt these patterns with something constructive and positive.

It takes work to stay positive in the day that we live in. However, do the work. It will be more than worth it in the end.

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Powerful Attitudes Ingredients

My mother still makes the most awesome spaghetti I’ve ever tasted. She tells me how very little money it takes to make good spaghetti. But then, her spaghetti rivals only her meatloaf like you wouldn’t believe.

I asked her, “How do you make anything like this that make me keep eating long after I know that I’m full?” Of course her reply is, “Son, its all in the ingredients.”

I talk often about ‘Powerful Attitudes’. What’s the ingredients that makes a ‘Powerful Attitude’?

One is, resolve. It is a ‘never look back’ perspective. It is a ‘jump in the river’ decision. Its driven by a burning desire to live your dreams.

Another essential ingredient (that many people miss) is love. Love for people. Love for what you want to accomplish. Love for yourself.

Did you know that all 2 trillion cells of your body responds when you feel love? Tell yourself right now that you love yourself. You’ll feel it.

Success is not genuine unless you are happy. I can also say that, wealth is not success unless you are happy. So seeking and finding what truly makes you happy is essential to your success.

Thus, happiness is the third ingredient of a Powerful Attitude.

I was with my elderly uncle recently. My father passed from this life 6 years ago. This uncle is my dad’s oldest brother.

A few weeks ago, we sat at the nursing home where he lives now and laughed for almost three hours. When you’re laughing, someone said, you are taking an instant vacation. I heard another man say, “When you’re laughing, in that moment, you’re as rich as Warren Buffett.” I agree.

Laughter is the fourth ingredient to living with a Powerful Attitude.

I will share more ingredients in the near future. Get your attention fixed upon these ingredients of a Powerful Attitude. Choose to own a Powerful Attitude. Change your life; change the world.

You are amazing!

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