The Power Of Down Time

Today is one of those Saturdays where there is really not much going on. It’s unseaonably cold, and there are no major plans going on. Sure, I can think of things to do around the house, or do some shopping, but I am not very motivated to do work today.

Is this a bad thing? Should I feel guilty when I am not active? I could run into problems if I felt like this every day. However, I am beginning to see the importance of spending time in limited action. In fact, I have seen the importance of taking a bit of time each day to just stop and take advantage of some down time. Here are some advantages to down time:

• It’s a time to get your thoughts together. The life we experience externally is a result of what our thoughts are like. We need quiet time to gather and control our thoughts. Then we need the time to create positive ones, imagine ideal situations, and affirm success to ourselves. It is also helpful, and I believe necessary, to pray and meditate on things things.
• Upon getting our thoughts in line, it is easier to develop plans of action when things are quiet and we are not stressed. Faith and focused action is a force that no one can defeat. When we have both going for us, we are victorious in every situation.
• Better relationships. When I have had my fill of me time in a state of relaxation, I am much more willing and able to go out of my way for others. In fact, I will say that we cannot be our best for others if we cannot first be our best selves. In order to be our best selves, we need our share of down time.

These are just some advantages of down time. It is just so helpful to take advantage of times like this. Jesus Himself even stressed this, and how it helps us focus on the right things. In Luke 10 there is a story about how Jesus was going to visit two friends who were sisters. When He arrived, one was doing all the work, while the other was doing nothing but sitting and listening to Jesus’s words. The working sister complained to Jesus..”aren’t you going to say something to my sister? Im doing all of the work while she is just sitting there”. The funny thing is she doesn’t get the answer she expects. Instead of criticizing, Jesus instead commends the “sitting” sister for focusing on the right thing (Him and His words) and not letting other distractions get in the way.

Can you relate? If a famous person were coming to your house, what would you do? Would you relax and enjoy the moment of this special time, or would you be stressed because of the things that had to get done and let that replace the enjoyment?

According to the divine word above, we have every right to enjoy down time so we can focus on the priorities and the right things. It’s totally ok, as long as we don’t use the time to replace other times where we are prompted and inspired to act. Whenever you get the chance, even if it’s for a short time, please take advantage of some down time to think beautiful things, and get your mind and body in order. It will have extreme benefits when the time to act arrives.

Enjoy the blessings : )

 

Focus On The Power

A humorous scene in A Charlie Brown Christmas is when Charlie goes to Lucy for help. She says he must be afraid of something, so she goes through a list of fears with him. She fails to pinpoint one, until she comes up with pentophobia, which is the fear of everything. Charlie Brown then exclaims…”that’s it!!”

We can laugh at that humorous situation, but unfortunately, the power of fear is real for many of us. Sometimes it is more powerful than we think. It took a conversation with a child for me to figure this out. Several years ago, when my nephew was about 7 years old, he and his family visted. They lived in the country, while I lived on Long Island. We talked throughout the day. He asked why I didn’t spend more time in the country. I said I would, but I was afraid I wouldn’t last too long in the outdoors. He asked why I didn’t have a girlfriend. I’d said I’d ask more girls out, but I was afraid they’d say no. I had a broken hose I was trying to mess with. He asked why don’t I just fix it? I said I was afraid I would make it worse. Finally he says, “Uncle Joe, are you afraid of everything?” 

That question was a wake up call for me. I realized that I couldn’t honestly say no to that question. I was letting fear rule all parts of my life, and many different situations. That conversation was quite a while ago, but I still remember it today, especially if begin to let fear creep into my life.

There is one Bible verse that stands out to help remedy this situation. 2 Timothy 1:7 says..God did not give us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, love, and self-control. We need to remember that it is His spirit that lives within us. That spirit is all-powerful, and all-loving. When we are conscious of that fact, fear disappears quickly.

Fear can interfere with our progress in every area of our lives. However, we don’t have to allow it. Focus instead on the powerful Spirit within you and around you, and put your faith in that. Let it lead you. Before you know it, instead of fear and apprehension, you will feel a sense of power and accomplishment. I’ve seen the damage fear can do in my life, and I’ve also seen the rewards that faith and power can bring. Focus on this powerful verse, and you will see it in your own life. Enjoy the blessings : )

A Free Way To Increase Your Income

Are you someone who is looking to make money online? It is my dream to make an excellent living from the comfort of my own home, and I strongly believe it will happen one day.

There are a billion ads online advertising ways to make increase your income. Many seem like they could work. The problem is, in almost all cases, you have to pay a fee to buy a program or get the magic formula. I know you have to spend money to make money, but if I spent it on all of these opportunities I would go broke instead of making the money I am looking for.

I will say that there is a free way to increase your income, and it doesn’t take much effort. In fact, you can have lots of fun with this. Are you ready?…..

As I continue to read and study the mind and its power, I see more and more how we can use our minds to accomplish anything. This is not something that one book says. I have read about 30 (and counting), and they ALL say it!! Even the greatest book of all, the Bible, clearly outlines benefits of positive thoughts.
So how can just thinking about money bring it to you? From what I’m reading, it’s a subconscious thing. You may be thinking…so money is going to fall from the sky just because I am thinking about it? I wish it was that easy. However, the more we see ourselves with the money in our imagination, the more likely we are to see it show up in our lives. It’s not about willing it into our lives. It’s not about figuring out how we can keep it all to ourselves. And it’s not about just sittting around waiting for it. It is about generating good, positive feelings about money. It is about figuring out how we will use it to bless ourselves and others. And it is about developing faith and taking necessary action according to that faith.

Faith is exactly what happens when we think positive thoughts about money, or anything. I shared recently that faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things unseen. I wrote that our thoughts are substance, and our desires are things hoped for. When we see money in our imagination, we are creating that evidence. Remember that our subconscious cannot tell the difference between what is real or imagined. The more you imagine it, the more you start to believe you can have it. Once you have that faith, pray for and seek opportunities to make it happen. Be sure to act immediately on the answers and guidance you receive from your intuition. I believe that intuition is the voice of God guiding and directing you.

I have seen this work in my own life. As I rid myself of negative money thoughts, and replace them with postive ones, I gradually see more money coming into my life. The more I maintain these positive thoughts, the more opportunities I receive. The same is true for anyone.

So instead of paying for those money-making opportunities and hoping they work out, see yourself as the prosperous person you want to be. Mentally experience the great things it will bring. Imagine the blessing you can be to the people in your life. Then act on the opportunities that inevitably follow. The more you keep these positive thoughts in your head, the faster you will see the results you are looking for. How much does this wonderful opportunity cost? It’s free!

Enjoy the blessings!!

Stepping Out Of the Ordinary

Ok, I don’t know about you, but I’ve had enough of the average, ordinary life. I am tired of accepting mediocrity, and know it is time to make the serious effort to reach the level of greatness I am seeking.

It’s frustrating to know that great things are close within my reach, but I am still not quite there. Why not? I believe it’s for several reasons. One is that I often don’t follow the excellent advice I’ve learned over the past couple of years about putting positive mind power to work. I believe I am a positive person overall. However, I have not yet perfected the process of putting that positive power to work for me on a consistent basis.

Another reason I feel like I am being held back is that I am listening to too many people. But isn’t it wise to listen to other people? Yes, very much so. However, I am letting what other people say, or worse, what they MIGHT say or think dictate what actions, or lack of action I take. Lately when I read inspirational information that can really help me with my life, there seems to always be someone there putting a damper on it. I will explain shortly.

So how do I remedy the situation? As I was sitting in church today, I realized some things. By the way when I “realize” something in the middle of church, I can almost always take that as God trying to tell me something. I realize that I just need to take God literally at His word when it comes to matters of faith. For example, here are some Bible verses that came to mind: If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer (Matt 21:22). Everything is possible for Him who believes (Mark 9:23). You may ask me for anything in my name and I will do it (John 14:14).

These are very inspirational verses. He will do ANYTHING, it says. Yeah, but what about only in His will? Yeah, but now your preaching prosperity gospel. Yeah, but you’re being greedy asking God for too much. Do you know what? I’m done with the “yeah buts”. Yes, I know God’s will is much more important than my agenda. The problem is I often use this as an excuse and fail to act instead of doing so in faith. I don’t know about you, but I don’t see any “prosperity” labels in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. And the more I read, the more I find out that God WANTS us to keep asking for great things in our lives. In the book of James, it says we have not because we ask not. So why not ask?

As I’ve mentioned, I’m done listening to the doubters and dampers. I am taking God at His word, and praying for big, great things, expecting that He will come through. If something is not in His will, I will gladly step aside and let Him fulfill His better plan for me. It’s up to me to pray and understand His will, and to act and move forward without getting too far out in front of Him. However, if I do, I trust that He will bring me right back to where I need to be.

After all this ( I appreciate you reading this far), you may be asking why I am writing this on a blog that is supposed to be helping people instead of focusing on myself? It’s because I get the feeling there are others like me who are done living the ordinary and are looking for greater things. If that’s the case, I offer the same advice I am taking for myself. Take God at His word. If He says you can ask boldly for anything, than do it! He wants to see your life grow into greatness even more than you do.

The bottom line is I am taking God at His promises and moving out of the ordinary to a life of great adventure and success. Would anyone like to come with me? Have an excellent, blessed day : )

The First Day Of The Rest Of Our Lives

Do you ever have days where you are convinced God is trying to tell you something? It is usually when you hear the same message several times in a day, via several different means. I experienced that today, where I heard the message of the above title in several ways. First, there is a great song by Matt Maher called “Hold Us Together”. The catchiest part of the song is the part where he sings, “this is the first day of the rest of your life”. I am also on several e-mail lists, and this was the message for two that I received today.

I believe this message is an excellent one. It’s a fact. Today is the first day of the rest of our lives. For me it is very comforting and inspiring to know that whatever mistakes I’ve made before today are history. Whatever sins I’ve commited are forgiven as long as I ask for forgiveness. Whatever I failed to do in the past does not have to affect me today.

I’ve said this before, but I am so thankful that God divided time into days. Each day is a clean slate, and another chance to positively affect the present and future. We may not have reached our goals yet, but today we can be one step closer. You may feel that you haven’t been the best person you can be, but today is an opportunity to change that.

Let us take advantage of the opportunity that each day gives us. I believe that is what God is telling me today. I also believe He is telling me to focus on each day and to do all I can to be my best for myself and those around me. It’s true for me, and I challenge anyone else to do the same. After all, this is the first day of the rest of our lives.

Have an excellent day : )

Big Prayers

Have you ever experienced the extreme power of prayer? Those times where an answer to a difficult situation is as far away as heaven itself, and you desperately cry out to God? Then suddenly an answer arrives just like that. It’s not just any answer, but a mind-blowing, divine response that is far greater than anything you could have imagined.

I’ve experienced this at times in my life, and I want more! Is it possible to experience results like this on a regular basis? I believe it is. How? It’s about how we pray. I have found that God will give us whatever we expect. It’s easy to pray small, simple prayers. We do that often because our minds can only conceive small results.

I believe it’s time to change the above way of thinking. God is waiting for us to pray big. What are big prayers? They are prayers for things that there is no way we can bring about results on our own. Prayers that go above and beyond our small conceptions and perceptions, and results that can only be brought about by God. When we pray these types of prayers, then we see God begin to move in our lives.

Why don’t people pray these prayers all the time then? I think it’s because, for some strange reason, that there is a limit to the amount of blessing we can receive in our lives. They believe we are not worthy to receive such great things in our lives. They think miracles can happen for other people, but not for them. I can vouch for this as I often thought like this in the past. If this is you, please cease such thinking at once. There are no limits to the amount of blessing we can receive in our lives. And if you have faith, miracles can happen in your life too. It’s simply a matter of asking for them and believing in them.

 I have learned an interesting fact through my reading about blessings we receive in our lives. Some of us are lucky enough to have many blessings, some that we never even asked for. However, in many cases, God will not bless us unless we ask. He is actually holding the blessings for us, and will release them upon our request. This tells me that I have missed out on many blessings in life because I never asked for them. I may not know what they were until I get to heaven. On the other side, it tells me that if Ican learn to ask for big things and look beyond my own limited imagination, I can receive so much more in my life than I already have. Now that’s reason for optimism!

The next time you pray, be sure to pray beyond the ordinary good. Seek greatness that only God can provide. Then make sure you are prepared, because you will most likely receive blessings you may not even be ready for. Just be sure to still gladly accept them! God wants to bless you abundantly. Ask big and you will receive beyond big. Enjoy the blessings : )

P.S. For more incredible and very helpful information about this topic, check out the following…http://www.blog-proverbsnwisdom.com/2011/10/simple-way-to-increase-your-prosperity.html

Powerful Self-Talk

It’s a beautiful day Joe, isn’t it. Yes, it’s an incredible blessing and…

Oops! I admit it. You caught me talking to myself again. Come on, admit it. You do it too. I would guess that many of us spend some time talking to ourselves.

My philosophy is, as long as we are going to talk to ourself, let us tell ourselves great things. We are incredible beings. We all have many positive attributes and plenty of great quality to offer to those around us. It is important that we remind ourselves of this fact. We need to spend time each day reminding ourselves of these positive qualities. Repeat to yourself how healthy you are; how good of a worker you are; how good of a friend you are; how successful you are. Simply tell yourself whatever you want to hear.

The fact is that your mind believes what it hears. Unfortunately, many people have low self-esteem because they’ve listened to  the negative things people have told them. For example, they’ve been told that they are not smart enough or good enough. As a result, they start believing it and living it out. The same is true for the positives. A young person may not believe he is a good artist, athlete, student, or whatever, but if enough people tell him that he is, he will eventually believe it, and his talents will flourish. It is also true that the mind does not consider where the information comes from. It doesn’t matter if it comes from someone else or from ourself. If it hears something enough, it believes it. We can control this by feeding our mind with positive information. If I tell myself that I am healthy and attractive, I will believe it and act accordingly. If I tell myself I am an excellent teacher, I will believe it, and my performance will reflect this faith. If I tell myself I am an excellent husband and father, I will believe it, and my mind will force my actions to back it up. That’s simply how the subconscious mind works.

Remember that the mind believes what it hears on a continuous basis. Knowing this, and the fact that we all talk to ourselves anyway, let us tell ourselves great things. As a result, we will live our lives with more confidence and joy, and we can effectively assist and positively impact those around us. Talk to yourself in a positive way. Your mind will listen and lead you to greatness. Enjoy the blessings : )

How To Be In Demand

Are you ready to re-live an elementary school moment? For some of you this might be a pleasant memory, for others it may not. It’s about choosing sides. In my day, whether it was kickball, football, or any team sport, there were two captains who chose teams. It was an honor to be chosen first. It felt good to be wanted. Not that I would know, because I would usually be chosen later, almost at the end. That wasn’t such a good feeling as it hurt to know that I wasn’t wanted or needed.

This does not change in the adult world. We feel great when we are in-demand and people want us and our contributions, while we feel hurt, discouraged, and un-wanted when people are not calling on us. The big question is then, is there a way we can control this? If so, what can we do so we are the ones people want to be with, people want to hire, people want to assist them?

The answer to the above question is yes. I’ve read this information in several books and articles lately, and it has become very obvious to me. The key to being a “in-demand” person is to do this…know what people want and show them how to get it. It’s as simple as that. So simple that I will say it again…know what people want and either get them there or show them the way to succeed.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to determine how true this is. Think about it in your own life. If someone can bring you closer to achieving your goals and help your dreams come true, aren’t you attracted to that person? Wouldn’t you want to spend as much time as possible with that person? I see it in many areas of my life. I wanted to feel loved and be happy. I was lucky enough to have parents that were good at that, so I loved to spend time with them. I still do today.

I would like to remind you that you could easily be an in-demand person. You can be someone that many people want to spend time with. Also, if you follow the simple guideline of knowing what people want and showing them how to get it, the level of success you can achieve is without limit. For example, let’s say you are seeking the right job. On your next interview focus less on your achievements, and discuss more how you can help the company reach their goals. Know what those goals are and tell your prospective employers what you can do to help them get there. You will have a major advantage over the other interviewers. You will never be short of friends or signifcant others if you can be a person that can help them realize their life goals.

Sometimes it’s hard to know what people need. What then?You don’t have to do a whole lot. Anyone likes to smile or laugh right? Even a few words to put a smile on someone’s face can do wonders. Don’t you like to be with people who can do that for you? As you get to know people better, then you can better figure out other things that will benefit them and help them there.

This information may seem very simple and easy. Yet it is often un-followed. I can vouch because it has taken me several reminders over a long period of time to help me realize its importance. It is very easy to get caught up in our own lives and think about how things will affect us. As a result, we don’t always think about the needs of others. Since many don’t often take this time, you are at an extreme advantage if you can take the time to help others get to where they want to be. So be the first person picked for the team, job, party, or anything in life. It’s a wonderful feeling you can experience continually. Not only will you be on the team, but you will be a winner as well. Enjoy the blessings : )

Take Action Now!

Are you often guilty of the p-word? You know, procrastination? I would love to tell you that I don’t procrastinate, but lying in a blog is not right, is it?

The key to beating the procrastination habit is to do things right away. There’s no way around it. However, people have often asked, “what exactly do I have to do?” I found a great answer to that question in the book, “The Science of Getting Rich” by Wallace Wattles. His advice is to form a clear mental picture of what we need to accomplish, and do all we can possibly do each day, doing each separate thing in an efficient manner. He stresses that we should not try to do too much. Once again, he says to do all we can to get closer to the goal, as long as we are giving a full effort and doing things right. He says that, if we can look back at the end of each day and know that we did all we could possibly do, we can call it a success. The more successful days you have, the faster your goal will be reached. This is true, not only for riches, but for relationships, health, career, and every other area of our lives.

I believe if we do two main things, we can be successful in any area of our life. One is to have faith that God will help us reach our goals, as long as it is His will. If it’s not, he’ll lead us someplace even better. The other thing is to do our part. We do that by taking the action mentioned above.

If we have faith and do our part to get to where we want to be (remember, faith without works is dead), nothing can stop us. The key is just to act, and act now. Don’t wait for the perfect time and perfect circumstances. Ecclesiastes 11:4 says, Whoever watches the wind will not plant; whoever looks at the clouds will not reap. What this tells me is that, if we wait for the perfect time to something it will never get done. In most cases, there is never the perfect time, except for the present moment.

Do you notice how, the more you delay, the more time goes by without something being done, the less likely you are to act, and the opportunity is often lost. The opposite is true when we do act. It becomes easier and easier to do things, as that becomes habit. Also, you will see success as you get closer to your goal’s accomplishment. And as you get closer to the goal, you are inspired by your success to act and get there faster.

I strongly recommend you follow this advice. It is not my advice as I have learned it from several great authors and speakers. However, I will say that when I follow this advice, I see a much greater rate of success in my life, and my goals are accomplished sooner than later. The same is true for you. Don’t be afraid to act. Do all you can today (no less and no more) to bring yourself closer to your goals and dreams. Rely on God’s help and do you part. As a result, you will be blessed abundantly.