Get Up!

Imagine a child playing outside on a playground. They take risks, try new things, laugh and shout. In the midst of it all, sometimes they fall. Do they just lie down, cry and complain...or do they get back up again. It reminds me of a line from one of my favorite songs.

We fall down, but we get up....because a saint is just a sinner who fell down...then got up.

Think of some of the most successful people that you know. Most, if not all of them has experienced a major setback in their life or career at one point or another. Imagine how the world would be different if they had not gotten back up again. Let's look at some examples...

Oprah Winfrey was knocked down by the pain of child molestation and incest.

Early in his career Sean Combs coordinated an event where people died.

Jennifer Hudson lost her Mother, brother and nephew to senseless violence.

Barack Obama's father was not present when he was growing up.

Jesus was crucified.

I'm not trying to depress you, and I'm sure that you can think of countless other examples, but my point is that if some of these influential people had chosen to stay down when they got knocked down, how different would the world be?

When we give in to pain, disappointment, financial hardship, abuse and the like...we are lying down. These things are all painful, but they have not killed us. So use them as a form of exercise. They exercise our heart, our minds and our will and only make us stronger.

So just like Oprah and Obama, get on up and turn your blunders into blessings. Use what you've come through as your testimony to help others who are going through the same thing.

If those prominent people don't do it for you, look to a child. They fall, and they may cry, but they get up, brush off the dirt and get right back up again to enjoy life to the fullest.

What has knocked you down? Don't just lay there...get up!

Are You Open AND READY to Receive?

One of my favorite affirmations that I write and repeat frequently is, "I am now open to receive." Recently I had to ask myself, "You may be open, but are you really ready?" I say this because we constantly hope and wish and dream and pray and want for things like a good mate, more money, a new home or car...but when we actually get those things will we be truly ready? Will we know what to do with those things? The reality is that we are so focused on what we have presently, or what we don't have, that when we get what we claimed that we truly wanted we often lose, abuse or reject it.

I was listening to an airing of the Oprah Show on Oprah Radio recently where they highlighted a very interesting social experiment. A homeless man was given a large lump sum of money, as well as opportunities for education, employment and mental health treatment. To make a long story short, he did not take the offers that would help him sustain and maintain his well being, but he did take the money. In no time he blew all of the money and was homeless again.

As we get on our knees and pray, or day dream, or create vision boards for what it is that we truly believe that we want or need, we must also prepare to receive it. If it is money that we desire, we must increase our financial literacy so that we will know how to manage it when we get it. If it is love that we want we must change our existing framework and learn what real and healthy love looks like.

Last week I talked about visualizing our dreams in order for them to be realized. A part of the vision must also be the wisdom, discipline, training and commitment that comes along with the things that we long for.

So this week, I encourage you to journal about, talk about, pray about, or meditate about all of the necessary steps, supplements, and mindsets that go along with what you are asking for. Be prepared because if you ask and believe, you will most certainly receive...so GET READY!

Visualize to Realize

I was on my way to a training a few weeks ago, on a dark morning when the weather was terrible and I knew it would only get worse the closer I got to my destination, which was three hours away. My anxiety began the night before and each moment that I drove it increased. I could not see myself arriving to my destination safely. Since I could not visualize myself in the place that I was on my way to, fear and anxiety took over to the point where it began to affect me physically. I pulled off of the freeway twice before I finally just decided to turn around and go home.

This is directly related to the goals and resolutions that you have set for the New Year. If you cannot see yourself starting and running that business, or as a more slim and healthy person, you will not get there. This is the reason that people create vision boards. Visual images feed the mind and make things real. You have to be able to mentally or even physically see where you want to be. So take some time each day to just day dream. See yourself in that new house or car. Envision yourself on that beach in that tropical place that you've always wanted to visit.

If mental pictures aren't enough to motivate you, create a physical picture with cut outs from a magazine on a poster board.

In order for your dreams to be realized, they must first be visualized. See where you want to be and you'll arrive at your destination eventually.