The Optimist's creed

The Optimist's Creed was written in 1912 by Chistian D. Larson in his book "Your Forces and How to Use Them".
It is an exceptionally well written motivational passage which can be read in less than 60 seconds.
Make reading this a part of your daily routine, and you will find life is so much better when you see it through this frame of reference.


The Optimist's Creed

Promise Yourself

To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.

To talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person you meet.

To make all your friends feel that there is something worthwhile in them.

To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.

To think only of the best, to work only for the best and to expect only the best.

To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.

To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.

To wear a cheerful expression at all times and give a smile to every living creature you meet.

To give so much time to improving yourself that you have no time to criticize others.

To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.

To think well of yourself and to proclaim this fact to the world, not in loud word, but in great deeds.

To live in the faith that the whole world is on your side, so long as you are true to the best that is in you.

Shine your light only on what you want to see

We are spiritual beings having a physical experience. A spirit clothed in flesh, and as a Luminous being, we experience in life only what we illuminate. Just like a flashlight, we bring into existence whatever we shine our light upon. If we focus on negative things, then that is what we will experience. If we focus on happiness and success, then that is what we will get. This is not metaphysical mumbo-jumbo, it has been proven as a fact.

I’m sure that you know people who always expect the worst to happen to them, and it usually does. They seem to attract bad things. Call them unlucky, or cursed, but a black cloud seems to follow them wherever they go. In fact, that is how most curses work. People who believe they are cursed will focus on all the bad things that will happen to them, and these beliefs come true. Are they really cursed? The answer is yes. They cursed themselves! And to lift this self imposed curse is simple. Stop believing in the lie! Shine your light upon what you want to happen. Focus your attention on health, happiness, wealth, and success.

If you have had negative beliefs in the past, you don’t need to continue! Stop and ask yourself what you really want. Then ask what you would need to believe in, in order for you to get it. Once you have it all figured out, all you have to do is focus on these new beliefs. You will be amazed at how your life will change.

One thing to remember – you need to constantly remind yourself of the new beliefs. Write them down and review them several times a day. Whenever you find yourself thinking one of those old negative beliefs, you need to immediately eliminate it and replace it with the new positive belief.
This is often difficult at first because you have conditioned yourself to run the old belief pattern for so long. Anything that you do consistently will become a pattern, and then a habit. To break a habit, you need to break the old pattern and replace it with a different pattern.
I used to drink sodas all the time. It got to be where I was never without a soda in my hand, so one day I decided to stop. I decided to replace the soda with bottled water. The first week I had headaches from the caffine and sugar withdrawls. The second week was easier, and the third even easier still, until I didn’t even think about a soda. I thought I had it beat. I felt better and lost a lot of excess weight because all of the sugar I wasn’t consuming.
Then one day I was walking down the hall talking to a coworker about something when we passed a soda machine. The next thing I knew I was drinking a soda instead of the bottled water! I wasn’t paying attention, and pushed the soda button out of habit! Boy, was I irritated with myself! I had “fallen off the wagon”… So I threw the soda away and got a water instead. I still sometimes forget, but as soon as I catch myself, it’s back to the water. Now my habit is the water.

Choose your habits carefully, or they will choose you! Focus your attention only on what you want, and you will get it. Let your light shine on the brilliance that your future can be.

The lighthouse photo was taken by a brilliant artist named Darvin Atkeson. Check out his work!

Find your inspiration!

Getting inspired is what everyone wants.

Deep down in your soul, you know that you have a mission here on earth.  The problem is that most of us don't know what that mission is!  Without that knowledge we just don't know what to do.  We go through life without a plan- just taking whatever comes along.

Finding your mission can be a difficult task.  And it sometimes isn't doing what you are good at!  You need to ask yourself some simple questions.

1. What do you LIKE to do?

2. Where do you like to be?

3. Who do you like to be around?

4. What inspires you?

Here's an example for you:

I am a Flight Controls engineer on the Space shuttle, and have been for the last 11 years.  The question is "Should I be an engineer"?

Engineers are usually linear thinkers who are good at math - not usually artistic...

Well guess what? I am good at my job for several reasons, but I don't fit the "engineer" stereotype.  For starters - I hate math!  Can you imagine!  An engineer who hates math!  Even though I have to use it all the time, for me, the calculations are drudgery.  I have friends who are engineers that enjoy the math - not me!

So why in the world did I become an engineer?  I didn't actually choose to, It actually chose me.  I was a Space shuttle technician for 19 years and I was asked to become an engineer by some other engineers.  In other words - I was just going through life, doing what I loved and that is what happened.  It wasn't planned. I just fell into the job.

The good thing is that I am good at solving problems.  If something is broken, I can fix it - usually in an unusual or creative way.  I can thank my father for this skill.  Whenever something was broken, he would ask me to fix it - and that was that.  No help, no tips, just do it. If I could not figure out how, then and only then could I ask for help.  Usually he would then just ask me a question. This was his way of showing me which way to go, or what to look at for the answer.

After so many years of doing this I am now very creative.  Someone once told me that the reason I think "outside the box" is that I don't even know the box is there"!  I believe creativity is learned, and my father was a fantastic teacher.

SO-

I like to be creative.  I enjoy making things, inventing, improving what is there..... That is why I also like helping people.  Maybe that is why people ask me to help them with... let's call it "Self Improvement".   When some part of your life feels "not right" or "Broken", I know how to "fix" it.  But the best part is I know how to teach.  So instead of ME fixing some aspect of a persons life, I show them how to fix it for themself! This is SO much more rewarding (for both of us)!
Don't you get a kick out of doing something for yourself?  If the mechanic says it will cost you $300 to fix your car, and you fix it yourself for $25 - doesn't that make you feel great?!  You might even want to brag about that one!

I think this is why I am a good engineer- I love innovation! - But I still hate math!!!

I LOVE my job! It is rewarding and I feel like I am doing important work, and I do get to be creative in many ways.
 The question is... Is this what I SHOULD be doing?
This is now a very important question as the Space Shuttle is being retired and the next space program is still on the drawing board!

I like my "art" to be "functional", and my "engineering" to be "artistic"!

1. What would be my perfect job?  Maybe having a workshop where I could make anything I wanted?  How about a personal trainer, or coach?  I do a little of both right now, but should I pick just one to focus on?  I don't know yet, but it will have to be something where I can be creative!  What is your perfect job?

2. Where would I like to be? - I love the mountains, so I should be living in the mountains - somewhere next to a waterfall!  Guess where I live - Florida! No mountains or waterfalls here!  Should I move?  Since they only launch Space Shuttles from here I guess I will stay a while longer.  In the meantime I made a waterfall in my back yard to help me cope!

Imagine a nature lover being cooped up in the city, stuck in a cubicle their whole life... WHAT A WASTE!
They are DOING THE WRONG THING WITH THEIR LIFE!
Do you live where you are most comfortable?  Do you dream of living somewhere else?

3. Who do I like to be around?  Creative people obviously!  You need to find people with like interests if you to be social.  Imagine if you were a purely artistic person surrounded by engineers... not a lot in common eh?!  You want to talk about the beauty of light and they talk about spectrometers and how they measure light frequencies!

What about you?  Are you surrounded by the kind of people you enjoy?  Do they bring light into your life, or do you just have "aquaintances"?

Do you sometimes feel like you "just don't quite fit in?"  I am part engineer, and part artist.  This is kind of like having one foot on the boat, and one on the dock!  This can easily be dealt with if the "engineer" in you gives the "artist" space and time to do their thing!  Even though they do go together, trying to combine them all the time can drive some people crazy.

4. What INSPIRES you?  This may be the most important question of all because it will tell you what you need the most! If you do nothing else - PLEASE! - find out what inspires you!  Surround yourself with these inpiring things!  See the inspiration every day!  It will do more for you than you can imagine.  Create a vision board to help you figure out what you want out of life, and what you can give to others!

Have you ever heard the saying:
"A man needs an adventure to live,
a Dragon to slay,
and a princess to rescue!"

Well get out there and find it!

Find your adventure, overcome the dragon, and rescue your princess!

You can improve your life, so start today.

Choose a Life NOW!

Job stress got you down? Take a vacation every day!

Does your job feel like this?

Is the stress from your job overwhelming? Do you live for Friday night, and dread Sunday night? Is the weekend too short- after all it is only 2 days.... and then you have to work 5 in a row?!

The reason your job is so draining is that you don’t take enough time to recharge your batteries!

Instead of working 5 days and then taking 2 off…. How about you Work 1 day and take 2 off!

Monday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Saturday, Sunday...!

One day of work and 2 days to recharge your batteries... wouldn't that be better?

And how many vacation days do you get? Not enough, obviously!

Do you want more?

The problem is that your employer could not afford a one day work week and more vacation.

So what can you do?

The problem with stress is that it builds up if you don't find a way to release it regularly. 5 straight days of stress can make you crazy! So you need to let the stress go more often.

How about I GIVE you 9 WEEKS OF VACATION!

Here's what I do... I take a vacation EVERY SINGLE DAY!

Here is my secret:

Take one hour a day - and during this time you do the following:

* Decide what you are THANKFUL for - and say it! (I'm so thankful that I have a family I love!..)

* Do something fun! Get some Exercise, paint a picture, read a good book, learn something, LAUGH, listen to something inspiring!

* Plan your day- what can you do TODAY that would be MOST beneficial?

(80% of your problems are caused by 20% of the issues- focus on the big things!)

When I first started doing this, I thought "Take an entire hour out of my daily schedule! That is crazy! I will never get anything done!" Well guess what? I was wrong! After my hour of vacation, I felt better. At the end of the day I realized that I was far more productive (in less time) than before! Instead of rushing around all stressed out trying to get everything done, I was calm and focused. I knew what needed to be done, and I did the important things first.

But be careful with this! You will probably run into this little problem.

You will start to feel guilty. Even though you are far more productive and happy while you are doing your daily vacation, you might start to feel guilty that you are taking the time "for you". This is NOT being selfish! Taking time to be thankful and plan your day while recharging your batteries is not just for you. Everyone around you benefits from your personal improvement. When you feel better, you treat others better. So if you start to feel guilty, ask yourself how much better your life is now - as opposed to the out of control frantic stress you felt before the daily vacations! Don't give up the time you need to make your life better! As the Energizer Bunny says "Keep going"!

1 hour a day for 360 days = 9, 40 hour weeks of vacation!

This is YOUR TIME!

You will be happier, healthier, and more productive because of it!

So CHOOSE A LIFE NOW!