Read any good books lately?

In the last 4 months I have been reading like mad!  Anything I can get my hands on.  Wow!  I have learned so much!  I'll be sharing bits and pieces with everyone.  I hope it helps and inspires you!
Here is a list of books I have read lately:
1. Rich Dad Poor Dad - Robert Kiyosaki
2. Awaken the Giant Within - Anthony Roberts
3. The Jack Rabbit Factor - Leslie Householder
4. Portal to Genius - Leslie Householder
5. Hidden Treasures: Heaven's Astonishing Help with Your Money Matters -    Leslie Householder
6. Why We Want You to be Rich - Robert Kiyosaki and Donald Trump
7. The Friendship Factor - Alan Loy McGinnis
8. The Seven Keys of Great Teaching - Oliver Demille
9. Aspire - Kevin Hall
10. Core and Love of Learning - Oliver and Rachel Demille
11. Secrets of the Millionaire Mind - T. Harv Eker
12. The Healthy Home - Dave Wentz and Dr. Myron Wentz
13.  The Attractor Factor - Joe Vitale

14. And as always the Book of Mormon.  I'm completely captivated by Alma 26, the whole chapter.  Read it, it's amazing!

What good books have you read lately?

A Change of Focus

Having a road map of life would be nice.  Then you would know where your going, what your supposed to be doing and why.  Boy that would sure end a lot of worrying, wondering, blaming, and crying.  All of those very real and very deep emotions that come along with just not knowing what the future holds.

And lets face it, the future doesn't seem to look very bright.  What with wars, health care, the economy, the housing market, oil prices, energy prices, food prices.  Need I go on?  How many of us are lying awake at night wondering what on earth you are going to do, wondering how your going to just survive.

The good news is that there is something you can do. It doesn't involve changing the world.   I'm not going to lie, it's not as easy as many people say...until you get the hang of it.  It involves lots of time thinking.  And thinking by the way is not hashing things out in your mind, mulling things over, analyzing the situation and worrying.  That is just busy work.

So here is the most simple place to start.  Start with you.  This simple step is the key to getting rid of all the worry, blame and guilt.  It gets rid of the what ifs and the negative self talk.  But it takes work, did I already mention that? 

OK, are you ready?  Here it is, Change the way you look at things and the things you look at change.  Did you know that you have everything you need, right in this moment to change your circumstances?  Do you have a pen and a piece of paper?  You do?  Good.  Then you have what you need.  Now use that pen and paper to write down what you want.  Do you want more time with your family, more money, travel, more time to help others, a cleaner house, a good night sleep?  Whatever it is, write it down.

Now look at that list.  How do you feel about those things?  Do you feel good?  If so, your on the right track.  Now here is the hard part.....keeping that good feeling when everything seems to be going wrong.   Success is not determined by thinking good thoughts sometimes, but by thinking good thoughts all of the time.

Review your list several times per day.  Look at it when you are feeling down, stressed out or worried.  This helps to put perspective into things and changes your focus.  It may take a few days or several months for you to truly develop the habit of changing your focus.  But, knowing what you want is a good  first step.

My new mantra

"I act in spite of fear.

I act in spite of doubt.

I act in spite of worry.

I act in spite of discomfort.

I act when I'm not in the mood."

-T. Harv Eker

I just got done reading the book, "Secrets of the Millionaire Mind," by T. Harv Eker.  Wow!  I am totally blown away!  I did not realize how many contradicting thoughts I have that keep me from achieving my goals.  The above quote is one of the millionaire mind declarations from the book.  It really hit home for me.  So I memorized it.  And now when I am worrying, doubting, feeling discomfort or fear about having to talk to people or just being lazy and feeling not in the mood, I say this quote as many times as I need to until the negative feelings go away.  Then I am ready for action.

Walk the Walk!

So, I guess this blog is sort of a journal of my journey to success.  I have no choice but to be successful.  I have kids counting on me!  Well, it's probably true that at this point in their lives they don't know any better.  But I do.  And isn't it my responsibility as a parent to lead them down the path that will make them most successful?

I have spent the last three weeks reading.  I've read a total of nine books and learned ALOT!  I'll admit though, I am TERRIFIED of actually having to talk to people.  I joined a network marketing company to learn sales and marketing.  How on earth am I supposed to learn this if I don't talk to anyone?  I figure if I can sell nutritionals, I sell anything.

 However, I can spend all the time in the world talking the talk, but if I don't walk the walk it's never going to happen.  Even as I write this I'm STILL TERRIFIED!  I'm hoping that by writing about it I can rally my people for support.  And I'm hoping that sometime in the future this will be useful for someone, somewhere, who is also terrified of their own success.

Here's hoping I can do it!  YIKES!

What questions are YOU asking?

"He who asks questions cannot avoid the answers."

-Cameroon Proverb

Last week I was standing at the kitchen sink washing dishes.  My five year old was firing off question after question after question.  I was trying very patiently to answer his questions, keep the two year old from unloading the dishwasher and the dog from sitting on the door, all at the same time.  Suddenly my head felt like it was going to explode.  Right before I yelled, "Everyone STOP!," I remembered....questions are how we learn, how we put stuff together.  And for my little 5 year old boy, these questions are going to form the basis of most of his belief systems when he is older.

Anthony Robbins says in his book Awaken the Giant Within, "Remember, ask and you shall recieve, if you ask a terrible question, you'll get a terrile answer.  Your mental computer is ever ready to serve you, and whatever question you give it, surely it will come up with an answer.  So if you ask"Why can't I ever suceed?," it will tell you - even if it has to make something up! It might come up with an answer like, Because your stupid," or "Because you don't deserve to do well anyway."

You can change how you feel and what you believe simply by changing the questions you ask.  You can say, "I feel good, I feel good, I feel good." or you can ask yourself, "What do I feel good about right now?" "If I wanted to feel good right now, how can I do that?" or "What would it feel like to feel good right now."

The key is to begin a pattern of asking questions that empower you.  Everyone is going to have problems and setbacks, the difference between those who succeed and those who don't is the questions they ask.  They ask questions like,"How can I turn this around?" or "What is good about this situation?" or "How does it get better than this?"

Once you start to ask yourself these kinds of questions, you begin to get answers that empower you as well.  Asking the right questions propels your thinking forward and opens up possibilities that were once closed to you.  You find that you have more resources, time and energy that simply wasn't there before. 

I encourage you this week to spend you time asking beautiful questions, then write down the beautiful and inspirational answers that you receive.  You just might be surprised!

"Always the beautiful answer who asks a more beautiful question."

- E. E. Cummings

Mind Vs.Heart

I discovered something this morning.  After having been so positive for weeks, I woke up feeling many negative feelings. I wondered: "Where did these come from?"  And I realized that for the last 5 days I haven't been doing all the things that made me feel positive. Wow!  My mind has a way of bringing me back to cold, hard reality.  In the past it didn't take much for me to believe that only what I see with my eyes is reality.  I also notice that when I let my mind take over, I am not as spiritual.  I tend to focus only on what is around me and not reach out as much. 

My heart on the other hand is 100% more powerful than my mind.  I use my heart to create all the wonderful feelings of being positive and creating a better life.  My heart says only, "It is impossible to fail."  The real kicker is when you combine your heart and you mind.  Thus the saying, If you can believe it (with your heart), You can acheive it (with your mind).  The two together are more powerful than any force of nature, because they bring the universe right to your doorstep.  And amazing things start to happen.

So next time you wake up wondering why you feel bad, ask yourself, "What have I been doing lately?"  Have you been thinking only with your mind or is your heart involved also?

Where are you?

"When you don't know where you are, start at the beginning."

-Oliver Demille-

Lets face it, the Universe does not usually move us in a straight line.  Stuff happens and it's easy to get derailed.  Unless we know how to get back to the beginning we just keep wandering, searching and never finding the path.  Eventually you just loose track and become totally lost. Well, if you don't know where you are, start at the beginning, get back to the basics. You know good and bad, right and wrong, True and false.  How well do you know this stuff?  Do you live it? These are the basics.  This is the stuff that you learn from the very beginning.  If you haven't learned these things, go out and learn it, study it.  Then go and live it.  You can get back on track, you can do this.  It's possible! Start small and if you loose your way where do you go?  Back to the beginning, as many times as you need to. 

Visit tjed.org for more information.

Why a Passion for Success Blog?

This is the core of the human spirit...

If we can find something to live for-if we can

find some meaning to put at the center of our lives-

even the worst kind of suffering becomes bearable.

-Victor Frankl-

Hi! I'm Sarah.  I'm one of those people that puts quotes and thoughts all over the place with sticky notes and even poster board.  I have a recorded life vision and I listen to it everyday. I truly believe not only the power of positive thinking, but the power of positive doing.  I have a passion for living and I want to be successful.  I haven't acheived all of my goals yet, but everyday I have successes that bring me closer to them. 

This blog is about real life, real pain, real suffering, and what can come from that....real passion and real success if we are willing to pay the price for what we believe in.  I hope to inspire, uplift and motivate you to discover your life's meaning and purpose.  And I hope that you will then go out and live your dream, live your passion!