Examine your Attitude.

Have you ever witnessed the power of the positive?  There are some people that walk the earth that grace us with unending joy and optimism.  They are magnets.  Their love of life and positive outlook seems to attract people to them. Like attracts like; it is the law of the universe.  Who doesn't want to be around someone who is happy? 

What is your attitude about life?  Many walk around as if they are on the way to the gas chamber--imprisoned by their own misery and victim to their own negativity.  Your attitude is not an entity outside of you; it IS you and can be managed accordingly.  Where are you investing your energy? Are you investing in lack, limitation, and negativity?  Are you investing where you will get the most positive return?  If others were to be asked about your attitude what would they say?  Would they suggest that you need an attitude adjustment?

Spend some time today examining your attitude.  Is it well managed?  Could it benefit from a shift of focus?  How might your attitude be limiting you in your daily life?

Success or sabotage?  At the core of all success (however it is defined), is an attitude. is your attitude serving or limiting your success?

Is this going to be an incredible day? What if your attitude was one of pure potential and possibility?

Invest your Energy.

Everything around you is a tool for greater success if you choose to allow it.  You may live your life as if everything is conspiring against you or you may entrust that all exists to support you on your journey. You may spend your time evaluating the evidence that suggests one is truer than the other or you may simply decide on the belief that best serves you. 

It is important for you to invest your time and energy in a way that is going to provide you with the greatest possible return. You are a conduit. Your investments are determined by your choices--consciously and unconsciously. Your return is, in essence, your life experience. Every time you invest your energy on the past or on worry or speculation of the future, you are in danger of depleting your energetic supply.

How can you be certain that you are investing wisely? Your emotional and physical health is the most immediate (and accurate) gauge of your investment return. If you are feeling fearful, angry, unhappy, depressed, exhausted or ill, you are not investing wisely. Anything less than "bliss" is a sign that you may invest more effectively. Take some time today to evaluate your investments of energy. Where are you still attached to unhealthy investments? What are some ways that you might invest even more effectively?

Success or sabotage? How can yesterday's experiences serve you today?

Is this going to be an incredible day?  If you truly believed that everybody and everything contributed to your prosperity, how could it be anything less than incredible?

Create effective Habits.

Are you managing your life or is your life managing you? One of the greatest story lines on television was in the sitcom "Seinfeld" when George  got so fed up with his life that he decided to ignore his instincts and do everything the opposite of his inclination.  Once he made the switch, his life was magically transformed and he started to get everything that he wanted.  There was a great deal of truth in the plot. 

Sometimes we get so caught up in our story (our version of reality) that we forget that it is simply our viewpoint and our choices, not a definitive reality.  We often live as though the world is unfolding and we just showed up to watch.  We simply react to what we are given; we often act as if we have no responsibility for what happens in our lives.  This is a sure path to sustained misery.  For all practical purposes, we might as well just lay on the highway and beg the largest truck to run us over.

Our lives are a product of our thoughts and choices. Our thoughts and choices are habitual. How many times must we suffer from making ineffective choices before we awaken to the truth? When are we going to invest in the energy and discipline necessary to create the kind of lives that we say we want?

Notice how often you begin to validate feeling as if you are a victim of circumstance today.  Stop yourself (in mid-stream, if necessary) and disengage.  Start again...only this time come up with a solution to your challenge. What is one small step that you can take TODAY to create more effective habits?

Success or sabotage?  Which master are you serving?

Is this going to be an incredible day?  Are you ruling the day or is the day ruling you?

Construct your Character.

Moral strength is a quality that, in large part, is a matter of choice. We may have a predisposition to certain reactions or a way of being that was influenced by our upbringing, experiences and society, but character is constructed by our choices. We may be unconscious of many of the choices that we are making through the course of a day. This does not change the fact that we eventually become the primary artist responsible for our own creation.

Many define the quality of their life by their experiences.  When we stop to consider the course of our lives and the lives of those around us, however, we are able to see that it is more about our response to our life experience. There are many who live with the absence of material goods and luxuries that are happy and fulfilled.  There are many who live in the lap of luxury that are unhappy and longing for something more. This is not news to anyone, but it does remind us that our choices dictate the value of our experience and the development of our character.

Ifyou were to ask your friends, family and co-workers how they would define your character, what would they say? Would you be happy with their answer? How would you like for them to describe you? Are your thoughts, words and actions aligned with your definition of the character traits that you would most like to emulate? If not, what are you willing to do to shift that BEGINNING TODAY?

Success or sabotage?  Is your character aligned with your definition of success? If not, how do you hope to succeed?

Is this going to be an incredible day?  Are you willing to hammer and forge a great day for yourself?

Give up Attachment.

As much as we may long for the comfortable illusion of the status quo, it is in our nature to grow and evolve. It is the most joyful and painful part of the human condition. Despite the number of incremental moments of success that we have gained through (then) uncomfortable growth, we have difficulty remembering the benefits of change. We have a tendency to embrace the illusions of control and shy away from circumstances that have uncertain outcomes (in truth, this is all circumstances, but we are more comfortable in our assumptions about some more than others!).

What is your ideal vision for yourself? You may be excited by the very possibility of your answer. It is the remaining steps, however, that have a tendency to elicit our deepest, darkest fears.  What are you willing to sacrifice in order to get it?  Success requires sacrifice. In addition to giving up your attachment to what was (and who you were), you may have to create new habits (reconditioning) to solidify your circumstance--moving from vision to truth.

Success or sabotage? The only power that you will ever have is in this moment. Who are you going to be?

Is this going to be an incredible day? What are you willing to sacrifice to make it so?

Embrace today's Opportunities.

So much of our lives is spent waiting...waiting until that moment when we will allow our selves to be happy. We are tempted to postpone it until a time when all is aligned according to our plan (our liking) so that we may be more comfortable in its arrival.

I am reminded of a time when I was given a bottle of imported champagne as a gift. I decided not to open it immediately. Instead, I would wait for a special "occasion." I stored the bottle in my parent's spare refrigerator. One day, my parents called for permission to discard the bottle. "We have been moving this bottle around from house to house during our moves and would like to know if you still want it or if we can throw it away." They had been carrying that bottle around for 15 years! I had never deemed a day special enough to enjoy the gift. In my waiting, the gift died a slow death. It was no longer fit for consumption.

Now is the only time worthy of celebration. This moment is the only moment of which we may be certain. Embrace the opportunities for joy that surround you today. Open a bottle of champagne. Eat from the good china. Wear your best suit on your errands. Take a long lunch. Dip your bare foot in the lake. LIVE as if this is the last day of your existence. Do all that is necessary to feel and experience the possibilities of this life that you have been given.

Success or sabotage? Can success truly exist without joy? Isn't that what success is all about?

Is this going to be an incredible day? What are you creating at this moment?

Move beyond Judgment.

Knowledge and intellect are awarded with their own price. There is a cost to understanding. If your understanding is not evident in your actions, then it can be a challenge to move beyond your own judgment of your choices. There is "a knowing" and "knowing." The first is housed in the intellect. You get it. It does not mean, however, that you do anything with it. Knowing is the result of experience. You have lived this truth and have an experiential understanding of it.

To categorize ones actions as a "mistake" is a convenient way to avoid responsibility and effective action. Remaining in a place of judgment is common and it serves no one. Every experience will inform you of a more effective way to live your life if you allow it to do so. There is no such thing as a mistake. The worst thing that can happen is that you realize that you could have made a more effective choice given your intention. You may not have known that until you experienced the effect that you (and your choices) caused.

If one chooses to be on the path to greater success and authenticity, one must rid himself/herself of the judgment over ineffective choices/actions. It does not serve you. Apply your greater understanding to a more effective life, which means that the "mistake" served its purpose in bringing you all that you desire.

Success or sabotage? Commit to one or the other. If you invest more in self-judgment and criticism than forward thinking and movement, you are NOT on the path to success.

Is this going to be an incredible day?  Choose the kind of day that you want to create--be precise--and DO IT.

Liberate your Self.

Our criticism of our selves often results in the creation of a false identity. We paint a picture in our minds of who we believe that we should be in order to be loved and accepted.  Our own judgment and misperception creates a false persona. The energy that is required to sustain the life of this perception is (eventually) debilitating. We are living outside of our integrity and the cost is sabotage to our success, our existence and (most of all) our souls.

Are you walking in your truth? Do your words AND actions reflect the truth of your being? Are you living your life or the unlived life of a parent or influential figure?  Are burdened by trying to keep up your image?

Release the judgment for a moment and envision your self as free.  You are liberated from all that holds you back, down and behind.  What is it that you had to shed to get to this point? If your mind begins to respond with statements that begin with "he," "she," or "they," then your ego is responding. Go deeper. What does the still voice in your heart tell you about where you are out of alignment? What small step will you take today to move back into your integrity?

Success or sabotage?  Words have power. If you wish to create greater success in your life, carefully (and mindfully) choose your words and the actions that follow.

Is this going to be an incredible day?  Begin with the words and construct the actions that will make it so.