Month: September 2015

THE INSPIRATION OF POOH

Proof that inspiration can strike anywhere, let me share some advice from a very sage philosopher, Winne the Pooh. Yes, the childhood character created by A. A. Milne. What can we learn about living an amazing life from a stuffed bear? Plenty. These words actually come from the book The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff. It explores the different religious beliefs in the context of the characters of Pooh and his friends. Sounds crazy I know, but check it out, a great read.

Ok, the part we are dealing with today is called the cottleston pie principle. It is based on a silly sound that Pooh sings as he walks through the Hundred acre wood where he lives. Again, the words seem simple, but the wisdom is hidden in there. We are going to look at one verse at a time. Here is the first.

cottleston, cottleston, cottleston pie,

a fly can’t bird, but a bird can fly.

ask me a riddle and I reply:

“Cottleston, Cottleston, Cottleston pie’

What exactly does all of that mean? Seems rather straight forward, but you would be amazed how many people do not understand. So many people are busy trying to be something they are not, or worse yet expecting everyone else to be something they are not. How much simpler would life be if we all realized our strengths and weaknesses and accepted others as well. Perhaps you have a coworker who is, shall we say…’sunshine challenged’ instead of viewing them as a burden, we can view them as a reminder to remain positive. You would no more use scotch tape to fix your car, than you would use a welding torch to put a torn piece of paper together. Everything has its use and purpose. When something seems ‘bad’ or ‘useless’ consider changing your view of it, or what you may use it for.

Still having trouble accepting advice from a talking bear? How about advice from a world-famous physicist? These words come straight from Albert Einstein and happen to be one of my favorite quotes of his. They also echo the words of the world-famous bear above.

“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid”

So whether you repeat this quote to yourself or sing the verse above, it is important to remember everything, and everyone has a purpose and something they are good at. Do not be to hard on yourself or others. Maybe you just  haven’t found what you are here for yet. As Einstein said, Maybe you just haven’t found your genius yet.

REMEMBERING

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Today marks the anniversary of the attacks in the US of the world Trade Center. It stands as a low point in humanities relating to one another. After the attacks Americans began to look for someone to blame. This is a  natural response to tragedy.  When I lived one is hurt or killed, or even the country you love you want payback.

Let us look at who really is to blame, what they tried to accomplish and how we can best pay them back. First, who is to blame. There are countless conspiracy theories out there,but I am just going to address the accepted version and the group that claimed responsibility, a extreme terrorist group.  What was their goal in taking all of these innocent lives?  To propagate racial fear and hatred and continue their holy war. How did they do? Considering the attitude towards those in the Muslim faith in America, pretty good.
I recall protests about a mosque being built near the sight of the attacks. “how dare they!” people shouted.  This very thinking is what those attackers tried to fuel.
So how can we pay them back? What is the best way to pay these people back for taking thousands of innocent lives? Making sure their goal and their endgame fail. When all the people began protesting the mosque I began to think, “this is just what they wanted” I would love to see a building with several of the major religions all in one. A Christian church on one side, a Buddhist temple on a second, a Muslim mosque on a third followed by perhaps a Hindu shrine? The biggest ‘middle finger’ we can give to those who were behind this attack would be to draw together.

Another reason this is good. Abraham Lincoln noted during the civil war that people divided are easier to conquer and control. If we unite in love, not only will we be a stronger force, we will not be lead astray by corrupt politicians or religious fanatics. Make no mistake, the attacks did not end 14 years ago. They continue to this day with the racial and cultural hatred running rampant in todays world. Think you are hating the ‘bad guy’? Think again. I know many people of many different cultures and beliefs. Some are bad, most are amazing people. When you judge someone based on anything other than who they are as a person, you are helping further the cause of terror groups everywhere. The best revenge we can enact is to learn to love our brothers and sisters on this planet. When the people of the earth unite as one we will be able to accomplish great things. No act by an extreme few will again be able to tear us apart and create fear.

So do your part to fight terrorism today. Learn about a culture different than yours. Hang out with people who are wonderful, yet different than you. Myself? I am going to work with my French/Irish girlfriend and hopefully we will see our German, Asian, African-American, Hispanic friends. Do you know what we will do? Love them all and by doing so telling those who wish to create fear and hatred in the world to kiss our ass. Let’s all learn to love and forget how to hate.

CREATE A MASTERMIND GROUP

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This is an idea that was first promoted by Napoleon Hill. If you have not done so, I would strongly suggest reading his book Think and Grow Rich The idea is simple, groups of people is one area where 1+1= far greater than two. When like-minded but different people put their heads together and combine their ideas what is created is something amazing. The gentleman in the picture above, Travis, myself and Shawn all have our unique talents and all can teach and learn from each other. When we get together great ideas are formed and perfected. I strongly suggest you compose an list of skills you would like to gain, as well as personality traits you would like to develop. Now, consider your current group of friends, do any of them have these? If so, maybe you should make a point to spend more time together? If they don’t? Maybe it is time to search out more people and make some more friends. Another great reason to keep your group of friends plentiful and varied.

The real fun begins when you start working on a project together. Add all of your skills together and you come up with a product far superior than you could ever all achieve separately. So build your mastermind group and watch your life and productivity in general soar. Ideally you should keep it between 3-5 people anymore there can be too many conflicting opinions that impede progress. Have a great day and remember the light at the end of the tunnel may be you.

Break Out Of Negativitys Prison

An insanely great post. Free your mind, free yourself!

bringitivitydotnet

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Negativity acts like jail to your spirit. It traps you in a cell. The bars are made outta frustration, anger, and anxiety. In the world we live in there are those that except the negative things in life and its cool with them. In negativitys prison, you do get 3 hots and a cot.  But are those meals you get in prison nutritious? They might be. Do those meals in prison taste good? Probably not.

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In this analogy, negative people are like police. Am i suggesting that the police are negative? ABSOLUTELY NOT! I am saying that negative people pull you over, search you to see what you have, then arrest you and hold you subliminally in a negative cell. Have you ever posted a good time on Facebook and had someone comment with their bitter feelings? There’s one example of someone pulling you over and frisking you. They frisk…

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A GOOD ONE

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“Whatever you are, be a good one”

-Abraham Lincoln

Here is a juggler/comedian i saw at this year’s state fair. I am a fan of juggling although I do not have such a skill. Perhaps that may be just why I am such a fan of this skill. It takes a lot of practice and patience. Two things that I do not always excel at.

When you do a blog on positivity and now are a motivational speaker, you are always on the lookout for inspiring ideas. So what great profound idea did I receive from a man juggling in the state fair? Surprisingly, it has nothing to do with juggling. In addition to being very skilled at his profession, here is what separated this man from all the other performers – his charisma. He had mastered self-deprecating humor, to a point where the audience didn’t know whether to applaud or laugh.

What is the point we can get from a funny juggler? It means not only did this person master his skill he also mastered the art of relating to people. Think of whatever your profession you do. Are you doing the best job at it you can? In todays world of fluid job situations it is even more important than ever to be the best you can be. As the quote from the 16th president above says, whatever you are doing, be a good one. That may also mean learning other skills. No matter what profession you are in, people skills are always a great idea to master. In an ever shrinking world, no person is an island. So if you want to learn any skill I would recommend investing some time and effort into improving you ability to relate to others. I strongly recommend picking up a copy of my favorite book How to Win Friends and Influence People.

So remember, whether it is a truck driver, bartender, blog writer, mother, brother or friend. Whatever you are doing today, be a good one