Mike
"Your most important education takes place on the campus of your mind" This blog goes hand in hand with my podcasts to aid you in the process of keeping your mind FOCUSED on the POSITIVE that is all around us!
Monday, December 16, 2019
Mike's Quotes #26: "Direct Your Thoughts"
Mike
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
Your Mind Is Like a Garden
Think on THESE things!
Remember the shortened version of last week's message: Your THOUGHTS are your DESTINY!
No longer believe the lie that you cannot control your thoughts and/or what you say. Again, that is a LIE and it is one that too many people believe and use as an excuse to allow their "garden" (their mind) to "run wild".
You are better than that and you have more determination and discipline for this to be true of you, right?
OF COURSE I'M RIGHT!
Now YOU must believe this for yourself and take ACTION today, tomorrow and each and every day that you breathe!
And as you take on this noble and necessary task, always be sure to...
"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"
Mike
Monday, June 2, 2014
You Are the Director of Your Thoughts
By the way, the last article has a link in it where you can download your own free copy of this awesome book.
Join me for our continued discussion from this classic book and, until then, be sure to...
"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"
Mike
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Thursday, May 29, 2014
This Becomes Your DESTINY
Friday, February 3, 2012
Think on THESE Things
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Be Open and Receptive!
How receptive are you?
Now THAT'S a loaded question that would need some clarification before it could be answered, right?
It is for me! My question in response TO the question would be, "How receptive am I to what?"
That does make a difference, doesn't it?
I mean, if you ask me how receptive I am to you treating me to a steak dinner I'd say that I'd be VERY receptive to that idea! However, if you were to ask me how receptive I would be to jumping out of an airplane I'd probably hesitate and not be as receptive!
But there are times that we "close off" our willingness to be receptive without any good reason.
Here's the point of the thought for today... I want to encourage you to be open and receptive at all times and not be like a door that is open and closed at different times.
By being open and receptive at all times we might be pleasantly surprised at what might come our way and be a positive addition in our lives.
Let me give you a very simple example. When I was a kid my mom would bring home some frozen pizza from the supermarket from time to time and I absolutely disliked how they tasted! As I got a little older this was my only experience with pizza and, because of that, in my mind I had decided that I DID NOT like pizza! While in high school and in the school band we would stop off and eat from time to time while traveling and, at times, it would be at a famous pizza chain - but I WOULD NOT eat pizza. Why? Because I did not like pizza! So, I'd order their spaghetti (which wasn't that great) instead. I did this for years and would turn down offers from my friends to at least TRY the pizza to see what it was like. In my mind I already KNEW what it was like and I knew I DIDN'T like it!
I finally gave in during my Senior year of high school and tasted some pizza from this famous pizza chain and, guess what? I LOVED IT! What had I been missing all of these years? I had a new "favorite food" and it tasted NOTHING like that frozen pizza that I had tasted years earlier.
I wasn't very receptive to trying this fresh pizza because I had already closed my mind to the idea that it might actually be different - and better - than what I had already tasted before.
We are like that in so many ways and, because of that, we very likely are "missing out" on so many things through the years. Are you?
Have your eyes and ears open and, by doing so you will become open and receptive to WHATEVER comes your way in whatever form!
Yes, you will need to be like an air filter that, although it takes in all air, filters out the impurities that could harm the machine (whether it be a car engine or your home's air conditioner). Be open and receptive to all "signals" but be sure to have that filter in place so that you can filter out the negative and harmful impurities from your mind and life.
Here's the story that I shared on the podcast for today. I will share it with you and then I'll discuss it in more depth in tomorrow's blog entry.
Last Thursday as I was traveling back home on my motorcycle I passed by a church building that had a sign out front with one of those "changeable messages" posted. As I passed by I glanced and the only words that I saw was, "Believe in yourself". I honestly didn't think much about it as I drove on past but did wonder what the rest of the message was.
As I arrived back in my home town - about 20 miles past the first sign - I passed by a business that had one of those "scrolling marquee" signs with the "lighted message" scrolling across. Now, think about the timing of this as drive past at about 40 miles an hour only to see the following message roll across the sign: "Believe in Yourself".
Now, honestly, my first thought was, "Is there some kind of campaign today that I missed on the news about today being the day to 'believe in yourself'?" I really think my "logical mind" did not want to think anything of it at the time. However, that thought did not last long and I smiled to myself and thought, "No, Mike - that's a message for you today!" And, when I considered the likelihood of those two signs saying the exact same thing and the timing involved I got an even BIGGER smile on my face as I opened up mind to receive the message.
Now, that may sound "weird" (or whatever word you want to use here) to you - but I believe it to be true and I believe that it happens to me and to you countless times during the course of a week and, even during the course of a day and we simply miss it because we are not open and receptive to the idea of this happening!
I, like so many of you, struggle with self-doubt from time to time and lately I have been "back on track" with some of my ideas and plans and this message was EXACTLY what I needed to be reminded of - and I received the message that was given!
But that's not the end of the story!
I spent a few minutes at my office and then began to ride my motorcycle home when I passed a different scrolling marquee sign that, as I passed (again, think about the timing) I read the words, "and others".
"Believe in yourself and others".
Wow! I still get chills when I share that with you and I'll share more specifics about the importance of that message in my own life as well as yours in tomorrow's entry but, here's the deal - ARE YOU WILLING TO BE OPEN AND RECEPTIVE to the messages that come YOUR WAY as you go through your day?
You don't need to "look for them". If you are open and receptive you will see them when they present themselves! And, likewise, if you are NOT open and receptive they will come and go and you will never even know that they were there.
Try it. Don't judge that pizza on that frozen, cardboard-tasting one you had in the past. You may be surprised at what you find!
And as you continue on your journey, don't forget to...
"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"
Mike
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
From "You Can't" to "I DID!"
Who do YOU let decide your future?
Going back to what we talked about yesterday and using the "garbage" of negative thoughts to "fuel the fire of our future pursuits" I want to continue to encourage us all to understand and realize that WE are the ones that determine the value of our lives!
My friend, Mike Magdaleno (http://www.MikeMagdaleno.com) shared a quote by Brian Tracy on one of his Facebook status updates yesterday - "Say no to anything that is not a high-value use of your time and your life." I made a comment that the challenge many times was determining the value of these things in our lives. I loved Mike's comment about that - "Make sure YOU (emphasis mine) determine the value and not outside forces, ego, etc."
Many of us, if not ALL of us, have had others try to determine our value and our worth for us. And, as we all know, they don't hesitate to share with us (dump on us?) their opinion about this matter! Remember the story I used yesterday as the basis of my discussion? "You are an exhibition of failure and all the children in school need to know about you..."
How DARE anyone say that about a child! How DARE anyone say that about ANY other person! And now, may I step on YOUR toes? How DARE you allow it and/or believe it!
Now, I understand that, as a child, you may have felt helpless and intimidated. But what I'm talking about is now that you are an adult. How DARE you allow this in YOUR life!
That's how determined we MUST become in taking control over this most important aspect of our life - OUR WORTH AND VALUE!
If that has happened to you in the past, perhaps as a child, do NOT allow those cruel words to continue to control your life or determine your value and worth. ENOUGH! Understand that NO OTHER HUMAN has the right (or the ability) to determine your worth and/or your value!
If you have those around you in your life now, as an adult, you MUST reject this negative influence by not allowing these harmful words to become a belief in your life AND I would suggest that you strongly consider ridding your life of these people if at all possible.
Friends? I would strongly suggest otherwise.
If you have no way around it, then use this to fuel your future!
Even if you DO have a way around it and you have removed it from your life then you likely still feel the effects of those harmful words. Hey, whoever said "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me" didn't have a CLUE what they were talking about! So, even if this is something from the past, you likely still feel the sting. USE that to fuel your drive for success!
Use the words, "You can't!" to drive you to success where you can say (with pride), "I DID!"
I LOVE THAT, don't you?
Tomorrow we are going to continue with this discussion with examples of others that I know that have had people tell them, "YOU CAN'T". And, guess what? Yup, you guessed it - THEY DID and they STILL ARE doing!
I love it, I love it, I love it!
Hey, whatever you do and wherever you go, be sure to...
"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"
Mike
Monday, March 22, 2010
Fuel For Your Future!
Negativity attacks all of us each and every day, doesn't it? Sometimes we are successful in our battle to keep it from having an impact on our mindset and our lives but then there are the times that we don't do so well.
The example I used on today's podcast was comparing it to germs. We can do all within our power to stay healthy - take vitamins, cover our mouths when we cough, wash our hands often, get plenty of rest, etc. - but, sometimes, even in spite of our best efforts we still catch a cold.
So, what do we do with the negativity that gets through our "invisible force field" anyway? Will we allow it to sink us OR is there a way to use it to our advantage?
I've include the following link on the Fan Page for Future You University (why not join the fan page while you are there?) - http://www.facebook.com/FutureYouUniversity
This is the story of a man that was belittled by a teacher when he was a small boy. Here's what she told him: "You are an exhibition of failure, and all the children in the school need to know about you, because this is what happens if you don't listen to me, children."
Isn't that a terrible thing for ANY adult to say to a child? The story doesn't tell HOW his mother found out, but we all know that mother's DO find these things out. My guess is that he didn't come home and tell her but that she could tell something was wrong just by looking at him. Mother's have a way of doing that, don't they? And, don't you know he had to be feeling pretty low after that?
Now, the mother and child had a few choices of how to handle the situation. I know you can run through some of those and even what YOU would have done in this situation and the story doesn't tell us if the mother did use any of those other options or not. However, the story DOES tell us one major thing the mother DID do!
In the story, the boy - now a man - was told this by his mother: "You are now going to continue to make small things. If you keep making small things, your name will get bigger!" She also told him, "The smaller your work, the bigger your name."
The man, Willard Wigan, now creates"micro art" sculptures (read all about it in the article I mentioned) which sell for up to $150,000!
What an inspirational story! What a wonderful and wise mother! What an example of using the negative to FUEL HIS FUTURE!
The reason I have the picture of trash burning for this article is simply this: Use the negative "garbage" that comes your way to fuel YOUR future!"
Instead of allowing it to bring you down (the intent of negativity - do not forget that!) use it to inspire you and drive you to success!
How many times have you heard a successful person say something along the lines of, "They told me I couldn't do it" or "They told me I'd never amount to anything" and they used this to drive them to success?
So, yes, do your very best to block out the negativity so that it cannot have a negative impact on your mindset and life.
BUT - not if - when it DOES seep through, use that negative garbage as a way to fuel YOUR future! Burn it! Allow the heat and energy that comes from burning that garbage to provide you the energy to propel you towards success!
I like it!
Don't you?
And, as you do so, always be sure to...
"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"
Mike
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Talk to OTHERS Affirmatively Every Day!
1. Make Enthusiasm A Daily Habit!
2. Don't Allow Negative People to Determine Your Self-Worth!
3. Get Into The Habit of Talking to Yourself Affirmatively!
4. Get Into the Habit of Talking to Others With an Affirmative, Positive Vocabulary!
We are building up an "immunity" against the dangerous, negative influences that are all around us each and every day - THINK ABOUT THAT! In today's podcast I use the image of putting up a protective, invisible force field that will not allow this negativity to penetrate and get to us.
And, while doing this, we are helping to do what is talked about in the second point - not allowing negative people to determine our self-worth!
You see, by talking to ourselves AND others affirmatively (in the "yes!") on a daily basis, so that it becomes a habit, we are preventing the negative influences from having as much - if any - impact on our lives!
THIS IS POWERFUL so don't skip out on this - don't skip over it or discount it!
IF you are serious, IF you are determined to MOVE ON toward your goals and dreams then you must understand that this is an ABSOLUTE NECESSITY!
Too, by talking to others in this way it helps us to stop focusing on what MIGHT be "wrong" with others or what we may not "like" about others and it will help us to focus on what is RIGHT and GOOD with all of those around us.
I've shared stories with you about how my wife has been determined in some of her work environments not to allow the negative people to have ANY power over her. As a matter of fact, her plan of action - ATTACK? - was to do all she could to turn the tables on them and basically make it impossible for them not to smile! AWESOME!
Try it - see what happens.
Determine RIGHT NOW that you are NOT going to say ANYTHING negative about ANYONE today and DO NOT budge on this! This means you will likely have to separate yourself from negative conversations so that you won't follow the temptation to join in.
Try it and give it your best shot!
And then, try it again tomorrow.
Daily.
Until it becomes a habit and you don't even have to think about it.
You'll be glad you did!
And, as you do so...
"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"
Mike






