I Just Want to Celebrate!

I Just Want to Celebrate!

So, what's the occasion? What are you celebrating? Birthday? Anniversary? Job promotion?

Here's the deal - why do we have to wait for those "special occasions" in order for us to celebrate? TODAY is - can be and should be - a day of celebration. Just because!

"As long as there is breath there is hope!"

That quote that I came up with way back in March of 2009 speaks to that very fact. LIVING and BREATHING is reason enough to celebrate!

The Bible says it this way, "This is the day the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it!"

Why not get in the "celebration" mood and mode?

I hope that if you have been listening to the podcasts for this week that you have enjoyed the energy with the new song I have been using for the introduction and close. The song is, "I Just Want to Celebrate" by Rare Earth and you can even find a video I posted on the Future You University fan page on Facebook one day in the past couple of weeks.

I love the energy of the song! I love the PASSION of the song! Hey, I just LOVE THE SONG!

But the words...the words...yes, I even find a powerful message to help us stay focused and positive in songs like this!

Here is the basic premise of the song as shown in the chorus:

I just want to celebrate another day of livin'
I just want to celebrate another day of life

Just think about the POWER of this mindset in these words alone! The CHOICE to CELEBRATE another day of living and another day of LIFE!

Hmmmm....I wonder how your day would go if you approached it with this thought in mind? I wonder how your day would go if even five other people that you come across during the course of your day approached it with this thought in mind. What if everyone in your office had this mindset?

Hey friend, why not kick things off by making sure that YOU approach the day with this mindset?

I put my faith in the people - But the people let me down
So I turned the other way - And I carry on, anyhow

I actually already know the answer to this next question without ever hearing your voice, but here goes: Have YOU ever been disappointed in anyone in your life?

Of course you have! Now, the most important question on this is this: What did you do about it?

What good did it do to "stew" and "fume" about it? What good did it do to rant and rave to those around you about it? What good did it do...period?

Instead of letting those types of emotions poison both your mind and, yes, even your body - why not do what this song suggests and simply turn the other way and carry on....regardless!

Again, it's a choice that we all have. You can choose to allow the disappointment and hurt to have a deeper and further impact by allowing it to claim your mind and body for any length of time OR you can choose to "shake it off" and move on.

A friend of mine shared an acrostic with me one day - F.I.D.O. - "Forget It, Drive On!"

One other verse I want to use in today's discussion:

Had my head on the dollar bill - But the dollar bill flew away
But the sun is shining down on me - And it's here to stay

Now, as I mentioned in the podcast, I really have no idea what it means to have your head on a dollar bill. At first I thought that maybe it was a misprint but, upon looking at several different sources on the lyrics, they all say the same thing. I thought maybe it was supposed to be, "had my HAND on the dollar bill" - but I guess not! PERHAPS it is implying that this person had achieved a certain level of importance that would cause some to want to put his image on money. I really don't know.

However, I DO know the point!

Money, fame, fortune - if you achieve it you need to also understand that it is fleeting! Here today, gone tomorrow!

Some people don't handle that too well, do they?

What about YOU?

It doesn't have to necessarily be fame and fortune - it could be a job, a relationship and a wide variety of other things that can be "taken away" in a moments notice.

And, again, what you DO in response to this is a choice - YOUR choice!

I love the simplicity of this message - WHERE IS YOUR FOCUS?

We can focus on the disappointments and we can focus on the "what went wrongs", the "what if's" and the "only if I's" if we choose.

OR we can shift our focus and realize that we have survived and we WILL survive and that the sun is still shining - yes even in the midst of all of the mess - and it IS here to stay! Regardless!

FOCUS!

So, what will YOU decide to do today? Just focus on TODAY, remember?

Even in the midst of life's ups and downs we can still CELEBRATE! (Hey, where's that "bootie shake" music?).

And as you do so - this will come easily if you are celebrating - be sure to always...

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike

Don't Allow Negative People to Determine Your Self-Worth!

Twelve "Do's and Don'ts" For Living a Positive Life

1. Make Enthusiasm A Daily Habit!

2. Don't Allow Negative People to Determine Your Self-Worth!

Yes, I know you've heard very similar things to this before if you've listened to me for very long. As a matter of fact, if you've listened to ANYONE in the area of personal development or read much of anything in this area, you've seen it/read it before.

But, the question is - how are you doing with that?

I'm not really sure what it is about us but we tend to pay attention - for whatever reason - to those negative people that feel that it is their duty to dump their negativity on us. I've shared with you before that I can have 100 people pat me on the back and tell me I've done a good job and have ONE say something negative and I'll linger on that one.

WHY?

Again, I'm not sure but I'm going to do all I can to encourage you to rid that from your life (as I do the same in mine)!

When you really think about it, why should we even listen to ANYTHING these negative people have to say? Seriously! Think about that!

When someone "feeds" on being negative then anything that they have to say is going to be fueled by their negative mindset. You really can't take what they say about anything and put any validity to it. If they give you their opinion about a doctor or a restaurant or even a movie...why would you take what they say as having any value?

If you haven't noticed this before - notice it now: Negative people will spew their negative poison on ANYONE that will allow them to do so!

Notice the word, "allow"!

(By the way, let me say again that, if you haven't listened to the podcast - you need to! So far the thoughts I'm sharing in the blog are similar but yet very different!)

We all need to understand that we OWN our space - our physical space as well as our emotional and spiritual space. And, since we own this space it is up to us - it is our RIGHT - to protect our space from these negative influences!

When we "allow" these negative people to dump their garbage into our space/life, then we are surrendering our ownership to them - think about that!

It's as if we are saying, "You need somewhere to dump your garbage? Yes, I know it's full of rotten food, trash and even raw sewage, but hey, it's no big deal - bring it right on over and dump it right here in my lap!"

None of us would allow that to actually happen, would we? So then why do we allow this to take place day after day in our emotional and spiritual lives?

Whether we realize it or not, we are allow these negative people to determine our self-worth even by allowing them to dump this in our lives. Again, we have surrendered our "ownership" and basically said that our lives aren't that important anyway so it's o.k. to dump that crap in our laps!

Am I getting to you yet? Are you starting to get a little angry? Are you seeing what I'm saying here?

THIS MUST STOP!

Well, it must IF you want to keep moving in a positive direction. This has to stop IF you plan to take positive steps on your journey. This must stop IF you value who you are and you realize that, indeed, you ARE someone special!

Again, in the podcast, I talk about other ways that we can prevent these negative people from determining our self-worth - so be sure to listen to it! BUT, as far as what you are reading here I want to encourage you to put THIS into action TODAY - RIGHT NOW!

"But they're my friends!"

Really? Perhaps it times to consider making some new friends! Perhaps this is one of the reasons you are struggling with making progress with your goals and dreams! Perhaps you have not yet accepted the first of my 7 daily affirmations that you are somebody SPECIAL and, because of that, YOU DESERVE BETTER!

Again, just like making enthusiasm a daily habit - it's a choice and the choice is YOURS!

You can either continue to have this negative garbage dumped on you day after day OR you can make a decision and not allow it any longer.

How? Listen to the podcast, but here is a quick run-down on my suggestions:

1. Remove yourself from the situation if at all possible - even if temporarily. Even if at work, if possible, get up and go do something else somewhere else.

2. Sooner or later you WILL have to do this - CHANGE THE CONVERSATION by talking in a positive way and refuse to give in! Refuse to allow the negative to come into your physical, mental, emotional and spiritual space. IT IS YOUR SPACE - remember?

Yes, sooner or later you may even have to sit down with this person (these people) and tell them straight out that you will not allow this in your life. If they would like to continue to be a part of your life then they need to respect that. If not- it's time for a change!

Yes, sometimes it IS that drastic IF you are THAT serious about the ownership of your life, hopes, dreams and goals.

It's up to you.

This, again, is but one of many ways to do what I say at the end of every article and podcast...

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike