The quote below by Bruce Lee is powerful. There are days many people feel defeated by something small, all the way to feeling the whole day defeated them. This feeling can build, gaining momentum. Defeat really is a state of mind. Rise up and stand in your power. If you feel defeated in any way, you gave that power away. Decide that your reality is all you dare to dream by feeling, thinking and knowing exactly what you want. Use all of your senses. Get involved in how that feels, what it looks like for you and then Get Out Of The Way!! Now go about your life staying as present as you can. Being in the now moment is critical to your success. You have probably tried everything else. Why not try this. You can’t change your whole life in a flash, so start small. Pick one thing to work on at first. See it exactly how you want it. Feel it intensely, alive with colors, sounds, use all of your senses. Accept it. Get out of the way. Stay present, which means out of the past and out the future. By knowing what you want and staying fully present you will create your future. The more positive you are in each moment, those moments will come together for you in ways you will love to live. Feel that this is real for you and go on with your day and don’t look back. Defeat is not for you or for me. It is not for anyone. It is just a choice.
“Defeat is a state of mind. No one is ever defeated until defeat has been accepted as reality. To me, defeat in anything is merely temporary, and its punishment is but an urge for me to greater effort to achieve my goal. Defeat simply tells me that something is wrong in my doing; it is a path leading to success and truth.”
Do the gratitude dance every day - it’s fun and people are doing it all over the world. Dancing makes you happy, plus it gets your energy up and focused for a fantastic day. What are you grateful for?
I really want to know. I will start with, I am grateful for every breath I take and every beat of my heart. I am very grateful to my incredible friend Nicole McKinney for sending me this video and suggesting it for your enjoyment.
Scott Rigsby is a double amputee from Southwest Georgia who runs Triatalons, The Iron Man and has set 2 World Records. I was very inspired by his attitude. Scott lives by a simple motto - Do what you can, do the best you can and don’t ever quit. He says you can sit on the sidelines of life or get back in the game. Good words to live by. I call that Living in Courage. Scott says to stay in the game long enough to make something happen. He wants to change the world one race at a time - one person at a time, and to educate the world about prosthetics. I admire you so much Scott. Thank you for encouraging all of us to say no to being defeated on any level. What a great role model you are for others. We will follow your success at Living in Courage, because you represent what this site is about and that is uplifting the human spirit in all of us.
This article was written by Mark Borden of Fortune Magazine. There is much to be learned from this short story about Tiger Woods and how he plays the game - to win.
Your mantra is “Work on your strengths; manage around weakness.”
A great example is Tiger Woods. Tiger Woods has a weakness in his game; he’s 61st in sand saves. If he worked in corporate America, they would label his weakness in sand saves an area of opportunity, and he and coach Butch Harmon would work on that weakness in the off-season. They didn’t do that. They got to the point where the sand saves were good enough so that they didn’t get in the way. Then they spent the whole off-season rebuilding his swing, which was his most dominant strength. Now, what’s interesting about that is, Tiger Woods won the British Open last year at St. Andrews. St. Andrews has more bunkers than almost any other course. There was only one golfer during the four days that didn’t get into one of them: Tiger Woods. His swing was so long and so accurate, he didn’t have to work on his sand swing. He was never in a bloody bunker! Not once.
“Find yourself, for courage and confidence are as easy as breathing to the person who really knows who he is.”
Vernon Howard
I love this quote. How often do you meet someone who is truly authentic? They know who they are and live from that place. I must say that I do know someone and he happens to be my husband Cody. I rarely meet people as centered as he is. People comment on it all the time. I can say with great certainty that Cody is authentic from the top of his head to the tip of his toes, and I would not want it any other way. I love you Cody, and thanks for being you.
This story is one we all may want to consider in regard to what is truly important in life. You can never put a price on love, yet many people value possessions over people.
The Son
By: Author Unknown
A wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of
art. They had everything in their collection, from Picasso
to Raphael. They would often sit together and admire the
great works of art. When the Vietnam conflict broke out, the
son went to war.
He was very courageous and died in battle while rescuing
another soldier. The father was notified and grieved deeply
for his only son.
About a month later, just before Christmas, there was a
knock at the door. A young man stood at the door with a
large package in his hands. He said, “Sir, you don’t know
me, but I am the soldier for whom your son gave his life. He
saved many lives that day, and he was carrying me to safety
when a bullet struck him in the heart and he died instantly.
He often talked about you, and your love for art.” The young
man held out this package. “I know this isn’t much. I’m not
really a great artist, but I think your son would have
wanted you to have this.”
The father opened the package. It was a portrait of his son,
painted by the young man. He stared in awe at the way the
soldier had captured the personality of his son in the
painting. The father was so drawn to the eyes that his own
eyes welled up with tears. He thanked the young man and
offered to pay him for the picture. “Oh, no sir, I could
never repay what your son did for me. It’s a gift”.
The father hung the portrait over his mantle. Every time
visitors came to his home he took them to see the portrait
of his son before he showed them any of the other great
works he had collected.
The man died a few months later. There was to be a great
auction of his paintings. Many influential people gathered,
excited over seeing the great paintings and having an
opportunity to purchase one for their collection.
On the platform sat the painting of the son. The auctioneer
pounded his gavel. We will start the bidding with this
picture of the son.
Who will bid for this picture?” There was silence.
Then a voice in the back of the room shouted, “We want to
see the famous paintings. Skip this one.”
But the auctioneer persisted. “Will someone bid for this
painting? Who will start the bidding? $100, $200?” Another
voice shouted angrily. We didn’t come to see this painting.
We came to see the Van Goghs, the Rembrandts. Get on with
the real bids!”
But still the auctioneer continued. “The son! The son!
Who’ll take the son?”
Finally, a voice came from the very back of the room. It was
the longtime gardener of the man and his son. “I’ll give $10
for the painting.” Being a poor man, it was all he could
afford.
“We have $10, who will bid $20?”
“Give it to him for $10. Let’s see the masters” someone
shouted.
“$10 is the bid, won’t someone bid $20?”
The crowd was becoming angry. They didn’t want the picture
of the son. They wanted the more worthy investments for
their collections.
The auctioneer pounded the gavel. “Going once, twice, SOLD
for $10!”
A man sitting on the second row shouted, “Now let’s get on
with the collection!”
The auctioneer laid down his gavel. “I’m sorry, the auction
over.”
“What about the paintings?”
“I am sorry. When I was called to conduct this auction, I
was told of a secret stipulation in the will. I was not
allowed to reveal that stipulation until this time. Only the
painting of the son would be auctioned. Whoever bought that
painting would inherit the entire estate, including the
paintings. The man who took the son gets every thing!”
One of my fun reads that I did not want to put down was “The Angel Inside” by Chris Widener. My husband and I have been to Florence where we fell in love with the city. This book took me back to a place I love to daydream about. Cody and I plan on spending much more quality time there in the future. When you read The Angel Inside you visit the statue of David, learn about the life and art of Michelangelo, while trusting the passion that lives within you will unfold.
This rock was originally cut for work before Michelangelo was even born. Three great artists, one very famous, could not see what the rock could be. Michelangelo knew there was an angel inside the rock.
As you read this book you will take a trip to one of my favorite cities in the world, salivate over the food, learn about the art, people, and living your passion. This book is a gem to read over the years.
I hope you enjoy “The Angel Inside” as much as I did. Many people did not know that Michelangelo was a writer. Here is a short sonnet he wrote which is from the book.
The Marble not yet carved can hold the form
Of every thought the greatest artist has,
and no conception ever comes to pass
Unless the hand obeys the intellect.
Neuroanatomist Jill Bolte Taylor had an opportunity few brain scientists would wish for: One morning, she realized she was having a massive stroke. As it happened — as she felt her brain functions slip away one by one, speech, movement, understanding — she studied and remembered every moment. This is a powerful story about how our brains define us and connect us to the world and to one another.
Jill describes the left and right hemispheres of the brain, what their functions are, how they affect us on a global scale, who we are in relation to having 2 cognitive minds with the power to choose the life we want to live or to be separate. Which do you choose? I have made my decision and will do everything in my scope of influence to spread the word.
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