You know, those niggling little thoughts that creep in when you are not looking.  They start to eat away at you and try to persuade you that the decision you’ve just made is somehow flawed, or you didn’t consider all the possibilities, then they try to change your mind, make you reverse your thinking.

It’s always important to question what you do, how and why you do it, so you can make an informed choice.  However doubts are the negative side of our thinking and must be dealt with rationally.

“There is nothing more dreadful than the habit of doubt. Doubt separates people. It is a poison that disintegrates friendships and breaks up pleasant relations.  It is a thorn that irritates and hurts; it is a sword that kills.”  Buddha

Enjoy the journey.

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Confidence is an attribute that should not be confused with arrogance, vanity, pride or bullishness, for each of these can be construed as confidence, when they are clearly not.

To be truly confident you need to believe in yourself without attaching to it any of the negative personality traits mentioned.

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.  Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.  It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us most.  We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and famous?’  Actually, who are you not to be?  You are a child of God.  Your playing small does not serve the world.  There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that people won’t feel insecure around you.  We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.  It’s not just in some of us; it’s in all of us.  And when we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.  As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

Enjoy the journey.

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Bravery: having or displaying courage, resolution, or daring; not cowardly or timid.

Being brave isn’t just about facing up when you have to.  It is also about knowing when something has to stop and taking the steps to withdraw.  It is about recognising when things are wrong and being able to do something about it.  It’s as much about being able to say ‘I can’t’ as being able to say ‘I can’.

Sometimes we can get stuck in a situation; we stay where it’s familiar.  We stay because we are too scared of what a change might bring.  Sometimes we stay because we can’t face saying we were wrong.  Other times we stay because we don’t want to rock the boat.

The opposite of bravery is not cowardice, but conformity.  Just remember, when you should grab something, grab it; when you should let, let go.

Enjoy the journey.

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A 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud man, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o’clock, with his hair fashionably combed and shaved perfectly, even though he is legally blind, was moving to a nursing home.  His wife of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary.

After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, he smiled sweetly when told his room was ready.  As he maneuvered his walker to the elevator, the carer provided a visual description of his tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on his window.  ‘I love it,’ he stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy.  ‘But Mr. Jones, you haven’t seen the room yet, how can you say you love it?’  ‘ ‘That doesn’t have anything to do with it,’ he replied.  ‘Whether I like my room or not doesn’t depend on how the furniture is arranged …. it’s how I arrange my mind.  I already decided to love it.  It’s a decision I make every morning when I wake up.  I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do.  Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open, I’ll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I’ve stored away, just for this time in my life’.

If you don’t like something, change it.  If you can’t change it, change your attitude.

Enjoy the journey.

Actually, two challenges – the first is that I have started a Blog Carnival for members of a forum I moderate.  I have chosen the title of the Carnival, Journey To Success, and I have chosen the topics we are all to write about for the next twelve months, one per month.  This month the topic is ‘Passionate, Focussed Thinking – write about something you are passionate about’.  The Carnival is now published, why don’t you go and check out the posts entered by clicking here.

I believe my main focus, both in life and on this blog here, (and something I am seriously passionate about), is inspiring others, focussing on the success of all by offering help where needed.  There are lots of different ways I do this.  Sometimes I offer support, help and advice, a positive outlook, other times I will arrange something, like this Masterclass Blog Carnival, in the hope that everyone will benefit.

So the second challenge is something that may benefit everyone who visits here, not just the Forum members.

On April 1st 2011 a new challenge began in the Internet world, one which 600 people are participating in.  Sadly I was away at the time and did not hear about it until it was well underway.  The challenge was ‘The A – Z Challenge’.  Participants had to write 26 blog posts, one a day for 26 days, starting with ‘A’ and ending with ‘Z’.  For a great example of how it has been tackled pop over to Positive Letters and see what Hilary has been writing about.

I do wish I’d have seen the challenge as I would have participated.  However, I decided there is no reason why I can’t just do this anyway.

So I’ve decided that starting on May 1st I will attempt my own A-Z Challenge, here on this blog.  Do you want to join me?  If you do and you let me know I will advertise your participation through a link here on my blog.  The topics are your choice, as long as you have an overall theme and work from A – Z, starting on May 1st and ending on May 26th!

Enjoy the journey.

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A little different from the norm, but the other day I was reading an article on caring for your eyes.

I don’t suppose I have thought much about it in the past.  I believe I have had good eyesight for most of my life, but in recent years I have had to wear glasses for long distance viewing.  In fact I mostly only wear them for driving as I can’t see the roadsigns til I’m right on top of them!

The article I read talked a lot about diet and how much it helps to keep your eyes healthy.  As we all know we really should eat a good combination of foods, and fruit and vegetables are great for your eyes too, apparently.  In particular avocados.  I’m pleased about this as I love them and now intend to include many more of them in my diet!

The thing that I took real notice of in the article is about use of computers.  I have to say I have noticed a definite worsening of my eyesight since using computers much more.  I now spend on average 8 hours a day in front of the screen, pretty much like a full time job.

The suggestion in the article is that we should take a short break from the monitor every half hour.  Sometimes that is difficult, especially if you are working on something and are on a roll.

I have tried to implement this after reading the article and am finding it easy to do.  For example, instead of having a selection of drinks or snacks near me so I don’t have to leave the computer chair I now make myself get up and walk to the kitchen for them.  And it gives me space to think, I find.  Sometimes staring at the screen doesn’t bring the  inspiration I hope for, but moving away from the computer does!

Enjoy the journey.

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I have fallen victim to the need to constantly check who’s doing what, where, when, and (if they tell you…) why!

Having had a new baby enter the family a short while ago, one who lives some distance away and has a mother (my niece) who updates her Facebook entries regularly, I find myself searching for the little darling’s latest photo, news of her developments, health, interests and stories about funny little things she does!

Of course all of these happenings are well documented on Facebook and I can go to my niece’s page and see everything long after it has happened…but I want to be the first to comment, to offer encouragement, to coo and ooh and generally be a GREAT Auntie and great-Auntie!

So, I am spending far too much time on Facebook and not enought time focussing.  Sorry if you have noticed my increasingly diminishing number of blog and forum visits.  I will try harder!

Must just go and check if there’s any new news!  (Tautology if I ever saw it!)

Enjoy the journey.

Good luck, coincidence, fate, divine intervention – we all have different names for those extraordinary moments that come out of the blue, those moments that knock you off your feet because they arrive without any planning and without any prior warning, and you really do not expect them.

January in the UK is tax payment month.  I visited my accountant and was horrified when she told me how much tax I had to pay – by the end of the month!  I simply did not have enough money put away.  The reason was that my tax liability had just notched me up enough to have to pay next year’s tax in advance!  Effectively this doubled my tax liability this year.

Once I’d calmed down I telephoned the tax office and told them I could not pay.  They agreed to a monthly payment over ten months, but it was still far more than I could afford, however I had no other choice, so agreed to this payment plan deciding very positively that something would happen and I would somehow find the extra money each month (almost £500 extra!).

One week later I got a letter from the accountant.  They had made an error in the numbers and my tax liability was reduced by £1,000.  Phew, I thought, that makes a huge difference, I’ll telephone the tax office and get the payment plan adjusted.

On the same day I contacted my electricity company because I’d had a letter requesting a meter reading as they hadn’t caught me in last time they called.  I gave the lady my reading and she told me there was no recorded reading since April 2009.  I know I have phoned readings through on their automated line, indeed I did one on my return from the USA last September.  Anyway they didn’t have it.  No problem, now they have an up to date reading.  I asked if I would have a deficit on my account recognising they may have underestimated on the past few bills.  She said she’d work it out, then came back telling me she had some good news.  I thought that probably meant a small credit balance, how lovely!

I then nearly fell off my chair when she said my account was £2,652 in credit!  I had been overpaying for two years!  She said she would refund the money immediately.  With the £1,000 mistake it meant I could pay my tax bill in full!  So on the last day of January, the last possible day I could pay, I telephoned the tax office and gave them the good news.  And I saved myself the interest they would have charged too!

So, good luck?  Coincidence?  Divine Providence?  Fate?  Am I destined to be lucky the whole of my life?  I do hope so!  I hope you are lucky too.

Enjoy the journey.

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The Internet is a great place for opportunities.  There is always so much potential for getting involved, learning, and earning.  Unfortunately what comes alongside that is complete information overload, an immense desire to do everything NOW, and often the feeling that you are somehow inadequate because it can all become too much to keep up with and you maybe are not doing as well as others.  In fact isn’t life like that in general sometimes?

It is essential that you are realistic about how much time you have, both online and offline, about what you can achieve in that time and about how much you can learn at the same time.  It is very easy to get carried away with the ‘next great opportunity’, believe me, I know – I am always interested in a new opportunity!

Make a plan, work out how many spare hours you have in reality, and only take on one online opportunity at a time.  Set the time aside to be online rather than booting up your computer and having it running all day.  It will only encourage you to do a bit more, and it will consume your life before you know it.  Take everything one step at a time and learn each stage thoroughly before moving on to the next.  Prioritise your tasks and work down from the top of the list each time.  And use any software that will make your tasks easier.  For example I use Traffic Sponge to alert me when a blog I watch has a new post.  It saves me flicking through hundreds of sites to see if they have updated their blog.

You will benefit in the long run if you start with a plan and stick to it.  Don’t get carried away with it all because you may well find you become overwhelmed and get stuck in the quicksand!

Enjoy the journey.

Mandy

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At the start of any new year it’s a great idea to review your goals and try to see where you have made progress from the previous goals set, and where you might need to work a bit harder!

I recently had a meeting with Steve King, someone I have worked with many times over the past  two years.  Steve has set out his goals for 2011 on his blog and you can take a look at those here.  We are working together on some new sites in 2011, with another marketer, Pat Graham, and thought the best way to kick start the process would be with a face to face meeting.  What a  great  thing to do!  If you ever get the chance to meet other marketers in the flesh you should go for it, it really makes heaps of difference.  Skype is great, emails can work, but they do not compare with a face to face meeting.  The three of us were able to sit at the computer and discuss our ideas, try out some options and generally just put pen to paper with us all having equal input.

I have a number of goals for this coming year, and one is to try to attend the Northallerton meet ups that are run by Randy Smith.  I have been trying to get to one for the last year but feel this is the year I will make more of an effort and take that opportunity.  I am hoping to meet some people whose names are very familiar to me (not just you, Randy!) and am sure the experience will be well worth it.

What are your goals for 2011?  What ever they are, I wish you luck with them!

Enjoy the journey.

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