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Monday Morning Coffee for Inspiration

Monday, November 10, 2008
by Liz Warren
Monday Morning Coffee

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:

"Begin to be now what you will be hereafter."

~ St. Jerome

GIVE YOURSELF A PRESENT!

Regardless of who you have been in the past - why not give yourself a "present"? Each of us experiences regret from time to time over what we have done - or left undone - in the past. Perhaps our transgressions were great - or just seemed so in our heart.

To become a different person in the future, St. Jerome suggests that you must "begin to be" that person now. If your career is overwhelming you, begging to be tamed, begin now to untangle it. Begin today to simplify your activities.

If you would like to be more caring, begin today by complimenting someone. Want to be more understanding? Listen carefully to one you love - today. Want greater financial independence? Analyze your income and your expenses, then earn more and live on less - beginning today.

Nothing happens until you "begin to be." Interestingly, however, the moment you BEGIN, you actually ARE the person you desire to be, provided you continue to be. The moment you change anything in your life, the past is over, forever.

Want a new beginning in your life? Don't wait for some earth-shattering, life-changing event to get your attention. Get started today!

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Wednesday Morning Inspiration

Wednesday, October 15, 2008
by Liz Warren
Monday Morning Coffee

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:

"The young do not know enough to be prudent, and therefore they attempt the impossible - and achieve it, generation after generation."

~ Pearl S. Buck

REMEMBER YOUR YOUTH!

Ever watched a healthy smiling child try to walk? For each step attempted, a dozen result in miserable failure and a bump on the head. Does the child admit defeat and stop trying? Never! The child doesn't know enough, doesn't have enough information or experience, to understand the concept of quitting. The child attempts the impossible, and succeeds.

So - what happens over the years that stops us from attempting the "impossible?" Og Mandino reminds us in "The Greatest Miracle In The World":

"You weep for all your childhood dreams that have vanished with the years. You weep for all your self-esteem that has been corrupted by failure. You weep for all your potential that has been bartered for security. You weep for all your individuality that has been trampled by the mobs. You weep for all your talent that has been wasted through misuse."

To paraphrase Og's words, we let our life's experiences rob us of the innocent optimism of our childhood. We come to know too much about life's hard knocks - making us prudent, cautious, afraid, and wary of trying. We avoid failure by not attempting.

OK - so it's too late for us to return to the innocence of the cradle. So . . . what now? We must identify the source of and overcome our fear of failure. By developing courage and faith, we can deny fear a foothold in our lives. As someone once commented, "Fear knocked at the door. Faith answered. No one was there!"

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Mt. Hood Friday Inspiration

Friday, October 10, 2008
by Liz Warren
Monday Morning Coffee

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:

"It is a simple procedure to calculate the number of seeds in an apple. But, who among us can say how many apples there are in a seed?"

~ Dr. Wayne Dyer

WANT ABUNDANCE IN YOUR LIFE?

Who among us would answer "NO" to that question? Yet abundance often seems beyond our reach. We see it in others, but do not believe it is in us. We see ourselves as the apple (limited), rather than the seed (limitless).

So, what's the first step on the road to abundance? Wayne Dyer thinks it is giving thanks - for what you already have. That might include good health, a new baby on the way, loving parents, a career you enjoy, or money in the bank. You do have a few things going for you - right?

Just as the potential of the seed in the apple is limitless, so is your ability to attract abundance. By focusing on what you already have, you begin to deny what you don't. Your attention is drawn away from the scarcity in your life - and towards the abundance that already exists in your world.

You may be thinking that when you achieve abundance, you will finally be complete. Therein lies the surprise - that you are already complete. You are never going to get it all, because you have it all already. That's right. If you are not currently thankful for the good in your life, having more of it will make no difference.

The secret to abundance then lies within you. Place your thoughts squarely on what you already have, be grateful, and it will expand beyond your wildest dreams. Believe you have nothing until you get more, and you will spiral endlessly downward in despair at how unjustly the world is treating you.

Want abundance in your life? Think about it!

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Tuesday Morning Inspiriation

Tuesday, September 30, 2008
by Liz Warren
Monday Morning Coffee

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:

"If thou wouldst keep money, save money;
if thou wouldst reap money, sow money."

~ Thomas Fuller

HOW'S THE FAMILY PURSE?

In George Classon's classic "The Richest Man In Babylon," he urges readers to "set your purse to fattening." His other advice? Pay off your debts - live debt-free. With those two simple bits of advice, he lays out a wealth of financial advice guaranteed to keep the wolf away from the front door - forever.

He has the audacity to suggest that a part of all you earn is yours to keep. Put $100 a month into your "purse" beginning at age 20. Invest it at 10%. At age 65, you will have a purse filled to the brim with $1,048,000. How difficult is it to convince yourself to put away $100 each month?

Poverty is not our fear. It is the insecurity of being vulnerable that we fear - of not being able to meet our obligations. The "fat purse" does not pay our bills. The amount we earn over and above the part "that is ours to keep" does that. The part we keep - our "fattening purse" - is what gives us the confidence that we are okay.

By the way, according to "The Millionaire Next Door," the "haves" spend twice as much time planning their financial success as the "have nots." Forget setting aside $100 a month, the "haves" set aside up to 40% of their pre-tax income for fattening their purse. That also means they live on just 60%. The "have-nots" are hyper-credit users who do no budgeting whatsoever.

Want to set your purse to fattening? Want to give your children a heads-up on being financially independent? Pick up a copy of Suze Orman's best-seller "The 9 Steps to Financial Freedom". More importantly - put her financial roadmap to work. Don't worry - be happy!

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Wednesday morning inspiration

Tuesday, September 23, 2008
by Liz Warren
Monday Morning Coffee

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:

"Always remember the distinction between contribution and commitment. Take the matter of bacon and eggs. The chicken makes a contribution. The pig makes a commitment."

~ John Mack Carter

HOW'S THE FAMILY?

OK, sure - you prepare the meals, maintain the yard, balance the checkbook, take the kids to soccer, wash and iron the clothes, tune-up the car. You take care of all the daily needs of the family. So - is that your contribution to them, or a contribution to your commitment to them?

Our world today is frantic. As adults, our responsibilities are awesome. Our careers require long and odd hours away from family. Our children are lured by television towards needs and desires for more and more material possessions, i.e. logo clothing, "gaming" accessories, makeup, or cool vehicles. Our spouse wonders why there's never enough time for "us." Where will it all end? How can we slow down?

If your family is moving at the speed of life, and there seems to be no end in sight, maybe it's time to take a look at your commitment to all involved. A great place to start is time alone with your spouse - away from home. If possible, that means an overnight or weekend trip. It's a time to re-examine your values, your goals in life, and the direction you would like your family to take. Finally, it's a time to re-commit to the health of your marriage.

You may quickly realize that it's a time to simplify your life - and that of your family. That's easy to say - more difficult to accomplish - yet attainable with a firm commitment. If you like the idea of simplification, there are three excellent books that can move you in that direction.

First is a great primer, Anne Morrow Lindbergh's "Gift From The Sea." Next, for both men and women is "The Simplicity Reader" by Elaine St. James. Finally, and especially for women, is "Simple Abundance" by Sarah Ban Breathnach. Why not make a new commitment to your family, beginning today? Your contributions will be much more enjoyable!

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Tuesday Morning Inspiration

Tuesday, September 16, 2008
by Liz Warren
Monday Morning Coffee

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:

"A man will find that as he alters his thoughts toward things and other people, things and other people will alter towards him.... Let a man radically alter his thoughts, and he will be astonished at the rapid transformation it will effect in the material conditions of his life. Men do not attract that which they want, but that which they are.... The divinity that shapes our ends is in ourselves. It is our very self.... All that a man achieves is the direct result of his own thoughts.... A man can only rise, conquer and achieve by lifting up his thoughts. He can only remain weak and abject and miserable by refusing to lift up his thoughts."

~ James Allen, "As A Man Thinketh"

ACCENTUATE THE POSITIVE!

It's so simple . . . the advice given in the above quote . . . and so true. Each of us has the power to elevate the value and quality of our life, simply by "lifting up" our thoughts, by placing our hands firmly on the wheel of positive thinking. Earl Nightingale gave an example in one of his taped programs. He said imagine that you are the operator of a huge piece of earth-moving equipment. You are perched in a small cab, hands on the wheel, and have the ability to move vast amounts of earth. Would you take your hands off the wheel and let it run itself into a ditch?

Your mind, and hence your thoughts, mirror that steering wheel. Through positive thoughts, you guide your life in a direction that produces positive actions, resulting in positive re-actions from others. Refusing to keep your hands on the wheel will quickly deliver you into life's ditches.

Life today is complex. It brings with it many opportunities for negative thinking. They range from the personal early morning "Hurry up, we're going to be late!" to the mid-day business crisis of "The deal isn't going to close!" Another quote goes like this: "Think you can, think you can't, either way you're right!" Again, it's your choice, isn't it?

The next time you feel frustration and doubt creeping into your vocabulary, think of a time when you felt really good about a similar situation . . . then replace the negative thought with a positive statement. As another wise individual once said, "Our lives are what our thoughts make of it."

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Tuesday morning inspiration

Tuesday, September 9, 2008
by Liz Warren
Monday Morning Coffee

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:

"You can be happy without expecting others to agree with you."

~ Kathleen Russell & Larry Wall, from "Achieving Your Dreams"

DON'T TELL!

One of Garth Brooks' tunes goes like this: "Nothing ventured, nothing gained - sometimes you've got to go against the grain!" What is this "grain" we seem to fear going against? Chances are it's really what people will think about us for venturing in a new direction - not some immobile obstacle we cannot physically overcome.

Author/philosopher Wayne Dyer speaks on this topic in one of his programs. He equates our lives to being in a boat and watching the wake it leaves behind as it moves through the water. He explains that the wake is not what powers us through life, it is merely what we leave behind - our history - where we have been.

Often, the "grain" we go against is really someone else's "wake." Others may say something like "That's never been done before," or "We've always done it this way," or "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." That's their wake - not yours!

Do you have a dream? Is there something you want to achieve that others might not understand? Don't tell them! It's not necessary to tell anyone what you are doing or planning. If your plan is radical, "they" probably wouldn't understand anyway.

So - live your dream. Plan it, execute it, and enjoy it. Make your own wake!

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Wednesday Morning Inspiriation

Tuesday, September 2, 2008
by Liz Warren
Monday Morning Coffee

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:

"You've failed many times, although you may not remember.
You fell down the first time you tried to walk.
You almost drowned the first time you tried to swim, didn't you?
Did you hit the ball the first time you swung a bat?
Heavy hitters, the ones who hit the most home runs, also strike out a lot. R.H. Macy failed seven times before his store in New York caught on.
English novelist John Creasey got 753 rejection slips
before he published 564 books.
Babe Ruth struck out 1,330 times, but he also hit 714 home runs.
Don't worry about failure.
Worry about the chances you miss when you don't even try."

~ Full-page ad published in the
Wall Street Journal by United Technologies

"I CAN'T" IS DEAD!

There's a wonderful story in "Chicken Soup For The Soul" about a 4th grade teacher and a funeral. The teacher had her students fill a sheet of notebook paper with all the things they couldn't do. They wrote furiously for quite a while filling their paper with "I can't do ten push-ups," or "I can't kick the soccer ball past second base," or "I can't get Debbie to like me."

The students were then instructed to fold their papers and place them into a shoebox at the front of the room. The teacher then tucked the box under her arm, and invited the students to follow her out into the playground. There, they each took a turn at the shovel and dug a hole four feet deep. The box was placed in the hole and quickly covered with dirt.

The students then held hands while the instructor delivered a eulogy in memory of "I can't." In it, she noted that "I can't" was survived by his brothers and sister, "I can," "I will," and "I'm going to right away."

"I can't" is a close relative to most of us, yet maybe with a little extra effort we can finally let him go. It won't be easy since he's been such a close relation, yet maybe by dwelling on his brothers and sister and their importance to us - we can!

Remember the unforgettable line from "The Little Engine That Could"? "I think I can - I THINK I can! I THINK I CAN!" Don't forget the last line of our quote for the day. "Worry about the chances you'll miss when you don't even try!"

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Monday Morning Inspiration for August 18th

Monday, August 18, 2008
by Liz Warren
Monday Morning Coffee

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:

"I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -
I took the one less travelled by,
And that has made all the difference."

~ Robert Frost, "The Road Not Taken"

PLAYING FOLLOW THE FOLLOWER?

Every morning a telephone operator in a small town received a phone call in which she was asked the time of day. One day, the operator asked her mysterious caller why he called every day to ask the correct time.

His answer? "I'm responsible for blowing the town whistle every day at noon, and just want to be sure I'm right on the second when I do it." With a chuckle, the operator replied, "Here at the telephone exchange, we set our watches and clocks by the town whistle!"

Watch children in a schoolyard and you'll notice the same thing. Children watch the child they perceive to be the leader, and then mimic his or her actions. They never realize that the other child is following the lead of still another.

So how will your day play out? Have you made original choices for the day, or will you be playing follow the follower? Either way, by bedtime tonight you will have been awake for about 16 hours and involved in some activity. Why not end the day with thanks - knowing that whatever you accomplished was by choice - not chance?

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Monday Morning Inspiriation

Monday, August 11, 2008
by Liz Warren
Monday Morning Coffee

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:

"Opportunities are seldom labeled."
~ John A. Shedd

FILL IN THE BLANK!

From "Wellsprings of Wisdom" by Ralph Woods comes this story:

A successful businessman was invited to address a group of young executives on the subject of opportunities. He began his talk by tacking to the wall a big sheet of white paper and placing a black dot in the middle of the sheet. "What do you see?" he asked, pointing to the paper on the wall. "A black spot," called out everyone in the audience. "Yes, I see a black dot too," replied the speaker, "but none of you saw the much greater expanse of white. This is the point of my talk on opportunities."

While it is so easy to focus on the "black dots" - the immediate tasks that face us each day - how often do you grasp the opportunities that no one else notices in the white space? Don't answer that you haven't the time to notice the white space. Do you ever find yourself daydreaming? When you do, you're visiting that white space. The question is: Do you recognize your ability to bring those daydreams to fruition?

Look around you. Do you find yourself envying what others accomplish? Perhaps you can learn from their example. All they have done is to act on their dreams - to recognize the value of their white space and put it into motion.

So - what's missing in your life? Why not try filling in the blanks - the white spaces - with the achievement of your dreams? Maybe a legal pad and pencil can help. Try making a list of every dream you've ever had. Write them all down, all of them. When you finish, place an asterisk next to the five you would most like to accomplish or experience.

Finally, make those five items the "black dots" upon which you will focus until completed. Once identified, it becomes much easier to concentrate your attention on them. Opportunity knocks!

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Displaying blog entries 231-240 of 256

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Liz Warren
Merit Properties Group - Keller Williams Realty PDX Central
Box 131
Welches OR 97067
Direct: 503-705-3090
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