Motivation Archives - Page 118 of 146

An Exciting Day at Successful Blog

July 15, 2007 by Liz

As We Used to Say in High School

Back in high school, when the mood was high, and we knew we were about to embark on something great, we would break into a carnie’s pitch that went like this . . .

It walks.
It talks.
It crawls on its belly like a lizard.
. . .
$10,000 if it isn’t alive!

That’s how I’m feeling today.

A New Feature, A Writer I So Admire

In a few moments, I’m going to introduce a new weekly column, featuring a writer and a human being I so admire. The concept is one that connects the dots that we are, the thoughts that we have, the ideas and the dreams. We’re both so excited about this — It’s a way to bring more of us together. Read with a whole new mind. See the living web come more alive!

The BIG IDEA Begins! Changing the World!

In a few short hours, I’m introducing a new series. It’s a breakthrough for me. It’s changed me and my business. It can change you and yours. This is the tiny start of the BIG IDEA — how I plan to change the world with a capital C.

Yes, I did say that out loud.

So say it with me. . . . “It walks. It talks. . . .”

I’m getting serious. How can that not be fun?!!!

Yeah, I’m a little scared too.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Check out the Work with Liz!! page in the sidebar.

I Can't

July 14, 2007 by Liz

about the word can’t.

In my internal dictionary, can’t has at least four meanings.

can’t: I am facing a roadblock.
can’t: I am powerless.
can’t: I am without the skills.
can’t: I am unwilling.

I wonder how often I know which of my own definitions I’m using.

Can’t is a contraction.

It seems to make me smaller.

Change the World: Choosing Our Own Path

July 12, 2007 by Liz

Peer Pressure for Adults

Authenticity. It’s not easy to be authentic. I wonder whether anyone can. Maybe it’s a self-actualizing quest. Maybe it’s a journey, not a destination.

Yet.

An authentic world of transparent events, where fear of oneself no longer exists, has the potential beauty and productivity of any phenomenon nature ever made.

Yet.

As I look back at those who have walked to their calling, or at the tiny ones I taught who knew their own truth, I see they both found some rocky walking as they made their way along their paths. It’s my experience, too, that as I find my feet — as I know which direction is mine and which place to stand — some folks find it a duty to tell me what my role is and to follow the path that they set.

No.

“Choose wisely. Choose wisely, but choose your own path,” my father said. So did my friends. “Choose not for others, but always hold your choice for yourself.”

The choice is the action. The choice is the hope. The choice is the relationship and the place where you’ll go. The choice is the chance to know your head and your heart as they become your life. It is the choice that honors your self and the people you respect and love.

Only you know which is the right choice.

Say, “no.” When they say, “be someone other.”

Say, “no.” When they ask you to do what they won’t.

Say, “no.” Unless your heart and your head say “this is where my feet need to go.”

Authenticity knows how to choose its own path.

Authenticity is having faith in ourselves.

We can change the world — just like that.
–ME “Liz” Strauss

Let Go

July 9, 2007 by Liz

No Strings, No Pain

I had this thought.

What if we all let go?

What if we let go

. . . the ribbons and the strings?

What if we laid down

. . . the burdens and the pains?

Then . . . could we hold each others’ hands?

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Change the World: Compliments and Apologies

July 8, 2007 by Liz

Say “Thank You”

Something goes right or something goes wrong. Someone says something about it. That something is a compliment or an apology. Oh. Compliments and apologies are so . . . um, er . . . direct. The words, the thoughts come straight at us. It’s almost natural to move out of the way.

“Oh that, it was nothing,” is not an unusual response.

Or maybe it’s the other way around. Something goes right or something goes wrong. We need to say something. We try to apologize or give say how touched we were by an action, but the words come out wrong.

Apologies and compliments can feel unnatural, if no one has shown us how. Even when we mean to be gracious, we can deny or discount ourselves and the person on the other side of the conversation. From what I see, that’s what most often happens.

“This old thing?”

Whether giving or receiving, if head and heart are together and focused on the other person, we’ll get it right.

Love means never having to say you’re sorry, but that’s a rule to give by, not to live by — that’s only part of the story. Love also means telling a person how you feel and letting that person say what he or she needs to.

No matter how embarassing, love listens when people tell us how it feels to have made a hurtful mistake or to have received a kindness.

Sometimes I need to know that you’ve heard how sorry I am. It helps me heal.

Receiving or giving, it’s about listening. It’s about the other person. How could it not be and still be authentic? It’s not so hard to do. One simple thought changes everything. A real person meant what was just said. I need to show respect for that. That one thought can generate so many responses.

I’m sorry. I behaved badly. . . . I am so happy for you. . . . Wow! Thank you, I work hard, and that means a lot. . . . I hear you. . . . I understand.

It took me decades to realize that compliments and apologies weren’t about me. It only took minutes to find a new way of responding.

We can change the world — just like that.
–ME “Liz” Strauss

7 Wishes for Us All on 07-07-07

July 7, 2007 by Liz

about 07-07-07.

I started writing this at 7:07a.m., and I’ve time stamped it then too. I have no mystical, magical tie to sevens. I want to mark a moment in time. When a moment is officially called, 07-07-07 7:07a.m., it’s worth noticing that moment pass.

To celebrate that moment of sevens, I made 7 wishes for us all.

I wish us all plenty of delectable food to eat. May it be so pleasing, so delightful, that we take time to savor it in the company of those we love.

I wish us all bundles of beautiful clothes to wear. May they show off the light and wonder that is each one of us.

I wish us all colorful, fragrant flowers on the streets and roads where we walk. May their scent and their delicate beauty soften thoughts from a world of machines.

I wish us all vistas and horizons filled with color and space. May we always feel we have plenty of room to stand, reach, and breathe.

I wish us all the music of life in the rhythm of our walk. May we hear melodies that inspire us to sing our song without caring who who plays the drum.

I wish us all thoughts that remind us of our own genius. May we learn to value ourselves at the times when we once made ourselves small.

I wish us all hearts that know unconditional love. May we give and receive without expectation.

07-07-07 7:07a.m., it’s so worth noticing that moment pass.

Keep these wishes for noticing every moment like that.