Change begins with Choice

I was reading a GREAT article that really struck home the other day.. so wanted to share a little Jim Rohn. Being human, I find myself blaming circumstances, husband, kids, weather or even the economy for not accomplishing what I want... this helps me stop playing the victim.. :-)

Change begins with Choice - by Jim Rohn

Any day we wish, we can discipline ourselves to change it all. Any day we wish, we can open the book that will open our mind to new knowledge. Any day we wish, we can start a new activity. Any day we wish, we can start the process of life change. We can do it immediately, or next week, or next month, or next year.

We can also do nothing. We can pretend rather than perform. And if the idea of having to change ourselves makes us uncomfortable, we can remain as we are. We can choose rest over labor, entertainment over education, delusion over truth, and doubt over confidence. The choices are ours to make. But while we curse the effect, we continue to nourish the cause. As Shakespeare uniquely observed, “The fault is not in the stars, but in ourselves.” We created our circumstances by our past choices. We have both the ability and the responsibility to make better choices beginning today. Those who are in search of the good life do not need more answers or more time to think things over to reach better conclusions. They need the truth. They need the whole truth. And they need nothing but the truth.

We cannot allow our errors in judgment, repeated every day, to lead us down the wrong path. We must keep coming back to those basics that make the biggest difference in how our life works out. And then we must make the very choices that will bring life, happiness and joy into our daily lives.

And if I may be so bold to offer my last piece of advice for someone seeking and needing to make changes in their life: If you don’t like how things are, change it! You’re not a tree. You have the ability to totally transform every area in your life. And it all begins with your very own power of choice.

My Story

When I had my daughter Sydney at the age of 35, I had every intention of working my massage practice around being with her full time. My mom was a SAHM for all seven of her kids.. and I wanted to do the same for mine. Well, like any first time mom I had my grand plan and that involved having my baby girl in my office while I worked on my patients and having the best of both worlds: helping people with their pain and stress to make an income AND being with my daughter. Well, it didn’t work out as I planned. Sydney was a ‘new parents’ nightmare.. colicky, which did not exactly lend a calm, quiet, relaxing atmosphere to my massage office. We adjusted, and compromised, and I was able to work part time from home.

Fast forward five years.. we had just moved our little family an hour north to be closer to the grandparents. Sydney would be starting kindergarten and I would be back to work, when along came Max. With this awesome and unexpected blessing, came the dilemma. A tough economy, a second child and unexpected medical bills made me staying home full time, NOT an option. For a year I searched, researched and talked to everybody I knew about options to work from home. What I found was pretty disheartening. A friend wanted me to join her in doing ‘jewelry’. My mom had found a little success with surveys and was enjoying being a ‘secret shopper’. That was great for a retired person enjoying a free lunch or a tank of gas here and there, but was not going to help us pay our mortgage. Two years ago, something wonderful happened. My sister-in-law shared with me what she had found and I was introduced to Internet CEO Moms. When she shared that I could REALLY work AT HOME and that this did not involve parties, handling people’s products or money and I did not have to hand out catalogs, I was hooked. In the past two years I have been able to take some of the financial burden off my husband. I’ve surpassed what I made in my massage practice, and see the potential for this to create true financial freedom for my family. Most importantly, it has allowed me to do all that WHILE being here for both of my children, weaving it around my family’s schedule AND having fun doing it! The support, energy and passion of our team of moms has been such a blessing and I love being able to share that on a daily basis with other moms and families. If you want to love what you do and be rewarded for it, come check out our TEAM!

The Garbage Truck

Thank you Donna.. for your Hibachi Group article.. you brought to mind this short story :

The Garbage Truck Rule of Life

One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport. We were
driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a
parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his
brakes, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches! The driver of
the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us. My taxi
driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was really
friendly. So I asked, 'Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined
your car and sent us to the hospital!' This is when my taxi driver
taught me what I now call, 'The Garbage Truck Rule of Life.'

He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around
full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of
disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it
and sometimes they'll dump it on you. Don't take it personally.
Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Don't take their garbage
and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets.
The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take
over their day. Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets,
so...Love the people who treat you right. Pray for the ones who don't.
Life is ten percent what you make it and ninety percent how you take it!

Have a blessed, garbage-free day!

Belief and Hope

As parents we HOPE to instill and inspire our kids with many things.. morals, values, a strong work ethic, a sense of fair play, a proper education, but along with all of those and more I hope and pray that I can help mine believe in themselves and their ability to accomplish anything they put their mind to.. sometimes we as adults have been forced to or allowed ourselves to give up on our dreams.. but that doesn't have to happen. There are so many examples of people that achieved great things early and late in life, after numerous failures.. Ben Franklin, Thomas Edison, Colonel Sanders, Oprah Winfrey.. just to name a few.. I HOPE that I am able to teach my kids..

"Only as high as I reach can I grow.
Only as far as I seek can I go.
Only as deep as I look can I see.
Only as much as I dream can I be."
-Karen Ravn

And thanks CEO Moms.. for helping me get back in touch with mine...

Words to live by-

Today I Will Make A Difference

Today I will make a difference. I will begin by controlling my thoughts. A person is the product of his thoughts. I want to be happy and hopeful. Therefore, I will have thoughts that are happy and hopeful. I refuse to be victimized by my circumstances. I will not let petty inconveniences such as stoplights, long lines, and traffic jams be my masters. I will avoid negativism and gossip. Optimism will be my companion, and victory will be my hallmark. Today I will make a difference.

I will be grateful for the twenty-four hours that are before me. Time is a precious commodity. I refuse to allow what little time I have to be contaminated by self-pity, anxiety, or boredom. I will face this day with the joy of a child and the courage of a giant. I will drink each minute as though it is my last. When tomorrow comes, today will be gone forever. While it is here, I will use it for loving and giving. Today I will make a difference.

I will not let past failures haunt me. Even though my life is scarred with mistakes, I refuse to rummage through my trash heap of failures. I will admit them. I will correct them. I will press on. Victoriously. No failure is fatal. It's OK to stumble...I will get up. It's OK to fail...I will rise again. Today I will make a difference.

I will spend time with those I love. My spouse, my children, my family. A man can own the world but be poor for the lack of love. A man can own nothing and yet be wealthy in relationships. Today I will spend at least five minutes with the significant people in my world. Five quality minutes of talking or hugging or thanking or listening. Five undiluted minutes with my mate, children, and friends.

Today I will make a difference.

Max Lucadot (Tyndale Publishing, 1985)

Setting the theme..

I woke up this morning with a pair of three year old feet jammed under my back.. Max climbed in at some point in the middle of the night.. two minutes later it was a small pair of arms wrapped around my neck for a quick hug and the exuberant words, "Let's get up Mom!" "Where's my juice?" "Where's Sydney?" "Let's wake her up!" I smiled... What a great way to wake up. A friend and proud mom of her "new Marine" had recently emailed pictures of her son just graduating. Before I know it, my three year old will be grown up and creating his own life too. What a blessing to be able to work from home and enjoy all the awesome, wonderful, funny and sometimes scary moments of my kids growing up. It was time to get Syd off to school.. and wait to see what Max the Destroyer was going to create (or destroy) today...

"Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things." - Robert Brault