Dare To Say Yes to Life! by Dr. Diane Hindman

I was searching for a file when I came across this link. The post is 3 years' old but still relevant to today. Admittedly I haven't seen the movie 'Yes, Man' or read the book 'Eat, Pray, Love'; however, without having done either I think something can still be taken from the following. To see the original post, click here.

Dare To Say Yes to Life!

2009 begins for me with a challenge to myself and to you. Dare to say yes to life! How many of us have been sitting on the sidelines watching our lives pass us by and wishing things would change each year. Wishing for more money, a more fulfilling relationship, more time with our family, more satisfaction in our career, better health… the list goes on and on. Well, it's time for a change. After about seven years of reading and studying as many personal development/self-help/business success/positive psychology/energy medicine/spirituality books that I could get my hands on, it has finally sunk in that they all say the same thing. You can wish and visualize for what you want all day long, but to really manifest it - you need to change who you are and what you do on a daily basis. The three requirements for manifestation: desire, belief and expectancy. The steps you need to take every day: 1. know what you want and really want it; 2. discipline your thoughts to remain focused and not be distracted or talked out of it (by yourself or others); 3. bring your dream into full alignment with your soul mission; 4. take action and follow through with growing into the person you need to be in order to manifest that vision. That's why it's time for a change.

So, what does dare to say yes to life mean? It means truly realizing that we have a limited number of days here in this lifetime and it's about time we did something about it. It means creating your future now and taking advantage of all of the amazing opportunities that come your way. So, where is all this mojo-filled momentum coming from you ask? How many of you have seen Jim Carrey's new movie, "Yes Man"? Well, I never thought I'd be basing an article, let alone my life, off of something I saw in Hollywood - let alone a Jim Carrey movie. Generally, I think he's pretty funny, but I like him in little doses and he is the type of actor that most people think is either hilarious or ridiculous. "Yes Man" is one of those movies that you go to see because you're in the mood for a good laugh and this one will have you in hysterics. But beneath the comedy lies an interesting concept to ponder - what if we had to say yes to anything that was asked of us? What opportunities would arise, what experiences would we have, what would be the worst that could happen and what amazing things might happen? I found myself thinking how fitting that this movie was released in a time of deep doom and gloom that's hanging over most of the world's population.

Then I got to thinking… what if we were to practice this even on one tenth the level that he did. How many times do we say no to opportunities that could change our lives because we were too scared, too tired, too worried about what others would think; because we couldn't afford it, didn't have the time or had too many other obligations? Wouldn't it be great to have the ability to say yes more often, even if we were a little unsure about whether we wanted to do it or not? How would our belief systems change if we started saying yes to more opportunities? My challenge to myself and to you this month is to say yes to at least one new thing that could potentially improve the quality of your life. You never know what could be behind the next door. And after all, isn't it about the journey then what's at the end of the road?

I'd love to hear from you, please email me and tell me what you dared to say yes to this month! A great book about a woman who truly said yes to life is "Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert - a moving story of her journey to find herself. © 2009 Dr. Diane Speaks

And the LORD answered me: "Write the vision; make it plain upon tablets, so he may run who reads it. (Habakkuk 2:2 Good News Bible)

What Are You Willing To Change by S. Anthony Iannario

The full title for this post is 'What Are You Willing to Change to be the Best Version of Yourself?' I read it on S. Anthony Iannario's The Sales Blog. If you would like to read the original blog post, click here. While this post is geared towards the skill of selling, the info can be applied to life in general. What changes are we making as we continue on our journey of change?

What Are You Willing to Change to be the Best Version of Yourself?

June 8, 2012 By S. Anthony Iannarino

What are you willing to change in order to achieve the results that you want? What would make you the very best version of yourself?

The results that you are producing right now, whether you are happy with them or not, are being produced by the actions that you are taking (or not taking). Those results are also the result of your beliefs. It isn’t enough to want different results or better results. To produce different and better results you have to make changes.

Are You Willing to Change What You Are Doing?

Certain actions lead to certain outcomes. If you want different outcomes, you have to take different actions.

If your pipeline of opportunities isn’t what you want it to be, then you have to change your prospecting. If your deals always end in you being challenged to justify your price then you need to change something about how you sell. You have to make changes.

As you’ve undoubtedly guessed, this isn’t only about sales. This is about making your life rock. If you unhappy with the level of energy you have at work, you have to make the changes to your lifestyle that will allow you to generate more energy.

What result are you getting now that isn’t what you want it to be? What do you need to change in order to get the outcome that you really want?

Are You Willing to Change What You Believe?

The actions you take are the result of your beliefs.

If you believe cold calling makes you to “salesy” or something less than consultative, then you will act in accordance with those beliefs. If you believe that your dream clients will only buy price, you will act in accordance with that belief, and you will work to sell price.

You get to choose what you believe. You can think about what you think about. Rationalizing poor results and justifying them with a poor belief system doesn’t produce better results. Rationalization is resistance to change, and resistance to change kills the possibility of better results.

You could believe that prospecting (in all its many forms) is one of your primary task in sales. That belief would support a different set of actions than some other beliefs. You could believe that your dream clients are willing to pay more where more value is created. That belief would support a very different set of actions than the belief that price is the only thing your dream clients value.

Your beliefs support your actions. They underlie the actions. To believe something and not act in accordance with that belief is the same as not believing it.

Are You Willing to Change Who You Are?

What you believe and the actions you take make you who you are. The actions you need to take to improve your results might not be inspiring. Most of the time it means hard work, dedication, and doing the quiet work that you alone can do. It’s the disciplined actions of making the calls, reading the books, hitting the gym.

What should inspire you is the question: “Who do you have to be to produce a better result?” Would the best version of yourself take the actions that you are taking now? Or would they take a very different set of actions to get the outcomes they need?

Would the best version of you rationalize their present results? Or would they own the responsibility for better results? What would the best version of you believe? How would the best version of you act in accord with those beliefs?

When Anticipation Is Tough, Hang In There

Waiting.  One definition according to Merriam Webster online is to look forward expectantly.  However looking forward requires patience.  It's fun looking forward but dealing with the opposition of waiting isn't. 

In the same online dictionary patience is defined as steadfast despite opposition, difficulty, or adversity.  During our waiting period, "What is taking so long," is a question repeatedly--if not often--asked.  Good things may come to those who wait, but is this much waiting necessary?  If I could hurry up and get 'there', wherever 'there' is for you, life would be better.  Then I could hurry up and do those things that would be so beneficial to me and those around me.

While this seems like a good thought, quick isn't always good and neither is it always the best.  Things created too quickly cannot be built as well as they could have been.  Shortcuts are taken that although fun at the beginning cause major problems in the future.  Quickly processed doesn't always mean ready to handle the pressures of success.  Think about the many one-hit wonder artists or people blessed with fortunes overnight to lose them within 1-5 years' time.

We can't take today's bad habits into tomorrow's successes.  Those habits will either limit or reduce the amount of time we will be able to spend when we reach new found success.  In other words, taking our current bad habits with us into the future will decrease the amount of time we would have to enjoy our new success.

While waiting, patiently endure with yourself (and others!) as you continue to grow and change as a person.  You're not waiting just for your dream to become a reality or for your goal to become a success...you're expectantly looking forward to becoming the person you've envisioned yourself to be.


2 Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides.  
3 You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors.  
4 So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.  
5 If you don't know what you're doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You'll get his help, and won't be condescended to when you ask for it. (James 1:2-5, The Message Bible translation)

I read the following this week and just wanted to share.

A flower starts deep under the dirt and has to fight against gravity in the darkness before finally breaking free and opening its bloom to the sun. You may feel like you're in darkness and everything around you is muddy, but keep pushing toward the light and when the time is right, you will burst into blossom.

Keep pushing forward during your time of change. It would be easy to stop where you are. More than likely you're a different person than you were when you started, so ending the journey of change here wouldn't be so bad. If nothing else, you're wiser and more knowledgable than you were before you began. However, how much greater would be the worth of this journey if you continued to struggle through the darkness towards the light of your goal or dream? Traveler, take a breath, regather yourself, and keep moving forward.

"Is there anyone here who, planning to build a new house, doesn't first sit down and figure the cost so you'll know if you can complete it?" (Luke 14:28 The Message translation)