THE FIRST STEP…

“The greatest achievement was at first and for a time a dream. The oak sleeps in the acorn; the bird waits in the egg; and in the highest vision of the soul a waking angel stirs. Dreams are the seedlings of realities.”

James Allen from the book As Man Thinketh

Raise your hand if you have heard the acorn and the oak analogy before. Ok, now put it down as reading your computer with one hand in the air looks rather silly. Stop and think of this; if an acorn stands in your way how hard is it to move? You can pick it up and give it a toss or even just kick it away with your shoe. Same with the egg. you could easily crush the fragile shell. Now what if that hatched to a powerful eagle? The force is a lot more intimidating. This is why we must pay attention to our dreams, or more accurately our mental focus. If it tends to fall on the negative side, which as I recently discovered can be far easier to do than I remembered, we must address these thoughts while they are still an acorn, while they are still an egg. For if we continue to feed our negative focus with worry, fear, anger and other such emotions they become the oak. A far more difficult opponent. Conversely we must also closely watch our dreams. When they are in their infancy they are like the acorn, like the egg. Easily crushed by the opinions of others. We must feed them with positive thoughts. Feelings of expectancy. We must surround ourselves with others who support us and our dreams. Then as the acorn becomes the oak, our dreams become immune to the negative thoughts of others…and more importantly our own doubts. Quite often we can crush our own dreams when there are in the fragile acorn/egg stage. So just remember to keep yourself focused on the thoughts and pictures we keep in our mind daily. Destroy doubt and fear as soon as they are recognized and feed dreams as often as you can.

SAVIORS OF THE WORLD…

“THE dreamers are the saviours of the world. As the visible world is sustained by the invisible, so men, through all their trials and sins and sordid vocations, are nourished by the beautiful visions of their solitary dreamers; it cannot let their ideals fade and die; it lives in them; it knows them as they realities which it shall one day see and know.”

James Allen from the book As Man Thinketh

 

The first few days of this week we are going to look at quotes from the book As Man Thinketh by James Allen. Today’s quote emphasizes the importance of dreamers. How many people’s lives are now better because of the dreamers? Whether we are talking about Martin Luther King jr’s quest for equality or Bill Gates vision to bring affordable computing to the masses. Dreamers always affect far more than themselves. As the quotes says, dreams often sustain us through all of our trails. What exactly does this mean? Let me cite a personal example. Recently I have been faced with losing my position at the Postal service and having to train the person who will be taking my job. Not only is this bad enough, but my future whether with the company or not is a mystery. Today I collected my personal effects from the office. A sad moment that made the reality of the situation very clear. In moments like this I am forced to examine my own skills at remaining optimistic. When life seems to have knocked you down, do yourself a favor. While you are down there contemplate what it is that keeps you going. For me it is a dream of what I wish to become. An author who can make a living bringing joy and a better life to others. Without this dream, without taking daily focused action towards its accomplishment I would feel at the mercy of my employer. In these hard times those who can inspire us become our saviors. The help us take one step further when we think we cannot. Even then we are at the mercy of their dreams. Do yourself a favor and focus on your own dream with certainty and positivity. Become your own savior.

THE SECRET TO BEING BEAUTIFUL

Diets, Botox, plastic surgery, supplements, 90 day fitness plans. They are over. They promise each of us the result of a more beautiful appearance. The marketing companies spend untold amounts of money playing on our fears and our dissatisfaction with our lives and ourselves. The only more amazing thing is the amount of money, in the billions yes that is Billions with a ‘B’ that we spend trying to find a cure that honestly lies within each of us. What is this secret? How do we turn we use it to transform ourselves and our lives into something extremely beautiful? To answer that let me use an example of two beautiful women in my life. My amazing and lovely friends Stephanie and Kim. What makes these two women so special? Great Question. Both a hard-working women at the jobs they do. both are full-time parents to their children and take great pride in the job of raising their children in the way they believe to be best. They also spend times working on improving themselves through various self-improvement activities. The add physical fitness when time affords. They learn new things that allow them to be even more amazing parents as well as spouses to the men in their lives. Now each of the things mentioned above alone could qualify them as beautiful people and I would certainly say it does. Do they sometimes have issues in all the issues mentioned above? I am sure they would be the first to admit they do. Try as we may nobody is the perfect spouse, they perfect parent or even the perfect employee. So what secret do they use, knowingly or not to be the beautiful people they are? It goes by several names, attitude, approach to life, passion. Call it what you will it has many features. One they focus on what it is going right in their world. They are filled with gratitude and express it to the people and situations they feel it towards. They are proud of the people in their lives and let them know it. Instead of complaining about something their children of spouse has done, they are often thanking them publicly for everything that they do for them. They also offer words of kindness and encouragement to others with no expectation of anything in return. Could these ladies complain of the vast amount of obligations and responsibilities they deal with daily? yes and they would have every right. it is their decision to not only endeavor to complete those responsibilities with the best of their ability, but to go the extra mile for others in their lives. In return others are drawn to them and they find themselves on the receiving end of many good fortunes. The best part bringing that positive and passionate attitude to life creates an inner beauty that shines from inside them all the way through to the outside making them two of the most beautiful people The feelings you create in the souls of others will do more for your beauty than a years worth of Botox treatments. Several trips to the spa or any other outer activity we may try. I’m sure you may know people like this in your life. I myself am fortunate enough to have many more. if you happen to meet Stephanie and Kim you will be able to see what true beauty looks like. I am grateful for them and for all of my friends who show me many different definitions of the word beautiful. so if you are looking to increase your beauty before you run to the spa, or order that next miracle product try looking inside or yourself. Your soul is the ultimate beauty product

COMING ATTRACTIONS…

Just an update on this fine blog here. Recently I decided to see if I could fly by falling off a ladder. The experiment was a terrible failure. I did receive some great parting gifts for my efforts which included a dislocated shoulder, torn ligaments in said shoulder and bruised ribs. I also received some very valuable lessons along the way. There are a lot of things I do on a daily basis I took for granted. Even taking a shower has been quite an adventure. I have also learned the art of patience. What used to take me 5 minutes can now take all day. In addition I have learned to be more comfortable asking people for help and receiving it graciously. Still one of the greatest gifts I have received is one of perspective. I was walking a small ways to a park down the street from my house just to get some fresh air. As I was doing so I was noting with a great deal of humor all of the new challenges this condition brought. Then I saw a gentleman in a wheel chair making his way down the trail in the park. His condition was not temporary and truly he had to make adjustments and develop patience that will last a lifetime. I knew my state was not all that bad, but I am not a patient healer, but this made me thankful for the fact my condition will improve. It also made me think how much worse my fall could’ve been. So it was a good lesson in that no matter how bad things seem to be going for you someone always has a bigger right to complain, and often does not. So appreciate what you have instead of morning what you lost.

Ok, all that being said, another thing that proves difficult is typing. So for the next week or so we are going to look back of the last year and revisit some of my favorite posts from this site. There may be additional commentary and for those of you who are new to this blog may share some things you might have missed. Before long we will be back with new and hopefully enlightening material for you! Until then, stay on the sunny side of the street even if it is just in your own mind!

THE ILLUSION OF VALIDITY

This was a term coined by Nobel Prize winning economist Daniel kahneman. His original definition was as follows “the sense that you understand somebody and can predict how they will behave” but it has sense been expanded to “A tendency for people to view their own beliefs as reality” Now I am not going to get into the debate on how this can be applied for political and religious purposes, that is not my field of expertise. What we can use if for is self-empowerment. Quite often we use this in a negative way. I know I am not good at speaking in front of groups so I will avoid anything that might cause me to do so. I confess to using it in regards to my dancing ability. I do not think I dance well at all so I seldom if ever do so. Yet imagine what this could do for us if we used it to empower us? What do I mean? Well it is kind of the old “fake it until you make it” principle. What if you just knew you were going to become a success with that new book you are writing. Ok, so that may be one I am currently doing. I had a more mystical friend of mine have the most uncanny luck. I asked her how she always managed to be so lucky. “In a past life a was a princess” she told me “So great things just naturally flow to me” now to be honest I am not sure what to make of past lives, but this young lady firmly believed she was destined to succeed. Therefore her subconscious mind caused her thoughts and actions to be focused on abundance. It can be used for more than financial gain. What if you operated on the theory “It is all going to work out in the end” that was your belief? Would a current challenge seem so overwhelming? How about “Every challenge is only making me stronger and preparing me for greater things ahead” whoa, that is a powerful one. What we believe goes a long way in determining what we experience. If you believe people are genuinely bad, every anger person will stick out more and effect you more than if you believed people were genuinely good. That is not to say that both people will experience some of both kinds of people it is just what we choose to focus on that becomes our reality. If that sounds rather esoteric it really isn’t. If you are running your car on fumes looking for a gas station you are a lot less likely to notice a coffee shop on the side of the road. So choose what you wish to focus on. pick things to be grateful for, things that show beauty. You will be surprised at all you missed. Who knows you may even see me dancing.

ANOTHER FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTION…

Ok, this title is kind of a lie. This is more like a frequently heard statement. When I start talking happiness and positivity to some people the response I get is something along the lines of “I’ll be happy when I win the lottery” or “I’ll be happy when I finally get a car that runs decent” more money, more health, more friends. Yes all those things can add joy to our lives. Those things can also be taken from us. True happiness is something that happens within. Positivity is an outlook and a journey, not an event or a destination. I know this sounds rather ‘new age’ and fluffy. In fact before I started this journey myself I would’ve argued happiness can be found at the bottom of a glass of rum. On a tough day at the post office, you may still get that argument. To better explain the theory that happiness is an inside job, let me cite a quote from a great modern-day philosopher

“Trying to be happy by accumulating possessions is like trying to satisfy hunger by taping sandwiches all over your body”

George Carlin

Does wearing a cross around your neck make you a more spiritual person? No more than wearing your favorite players jersey would make you a great athlete. Our spirituality, our happiness, very few things are more important to us. So why let your happiness be determined by outside factors? If you develop inner joy and then win the lottery imagine how much happier you would be? What if you develop inner happiness and then lose your job? How much better would you be equipped to handle that? Truth be told I may discover one of both of those here in a short period of time. The point here is in order to have a sense of peace and joy you can count on, you must develop it within. You cannot make it dependent on outside factors. You must take control over the important things in your life. Your happiness should be one of those areas.

THE SUPER HERO WITHIN…

yesterday we spoke of appreciating your value. Today we will discuss what is the easiest way to increase your value or like I enjoy saying “your awesomeness” Let us begin by asking a question, what things are you really not good at? Does a list immediately come to mind? Or perhaps some glaring fault that has become part of your identity? let me share with you one of mine. If you are a follower of this blog or perhaps one of my former teachers this next revelation should come as no big surprise. I, Neil Panosian, am a terrible speller. So bad in fact that quite often spell check’s suggestion for me on certain words is “go back to school” I joke about it, but it is true. If it were not for the afore mentioned spell check some of you might very well question what language this blog is in. So what have I decided to do? Become an author and blog writer. Seems kind of silly, but it is slowly improving my spelling. By slowly I mean I can now spell the word ‘experience’ without the use of a dictionary. So why would I decide to become a writer when I am not a very good at spelling. I will answer that in a moment, but first let me share something that many people may not know. There is a glaring flaw in our educational system. We have a predetermined set of principles we decided are important. if a child fails to succeed in any of these principles they are considered a failure, or a slow learner, or learning disabled. I am going to go out on a limb and say Picasso may not have passed a high school math test, yet we do not view him as a failure. Why? here is the secret. He worked at something he was naturally good at and passionate about. So ask yourself the opposite question, What is it, if I really think, that I can do better than most people? We all have something. The sad part is, if it is not what society or the educational system thinks is important we probably have not been encouraged to grow that talent. Well right now I am encouraging you! I tend to be good at talking to and listening to people. it is also a passion of mine. I genuinely care for people, even spelling teachers, and I like to be able to bring joy and happiness to their day. Now, I am currently employed as a postal worker. not a career known for its joyous demeanor. So I found a way to use and pursue my talent and passion. I have decided to make everyone’s visit to the post office the most fun and enjoyable one they have ever had. I have also started bartending part-time. A job whose main requirement is to make sure people are having a good time. So what is your talent? Can you draw pretty well? Buy yourself a sketch pad and some pencils! Can you tell a great joke? Learn as many as you can and share them. The world can always use more laughter. As for why I am writing a book, it is all about brining joy to the lives of others. So this weekend spend a few minutes really thinking about what your talent is and how you can develop and share it with the world. Who knows you may even end up changing your life as well!

ROLLS ROYCE AND BENTLEYS…

have you every noticed that Rolls Royce and Bentley don’t have commercials?

REASON; They know the value of their product brings customers to then

LESSON: When you know your value, you don’t have to beg people to like you, to be your mate, to spend time with you or to love you. Be confident in who you are. Everyone can’t afford the LUXURY of your friendship

So this is something I actually stole off of my sister’s Facebook page. I can’t take credit for it, but what a great way of looking at ourselves. I know a lot of friends involved in online dating and they seem to end up with not the best choices. It is human nature to think to yourself after a while “What is wrong with me that I end up with all the wrong people?” As you can see in the last line of the lesson above not everyone can afford luxury. The dating is but one example. there are times when friends seem to disappear without a trace, leaving us wonder what went wrong. sometimes we run into cruel and abusive coworkers, bosses or even friends who may turn on us. It is important to know and understand your own value going into the world. When you truly understand how amazing you are every undue criticism either bounces right off you or even sounds comical. it brings to mind another saying “people who are trying to bring you down are below you’ There is no other person in this world who can determine your worth than yourself. Yes your boss may decide on how much you are to be paid, but that is not how much you are worth.

perhaps you do not feel that valuable? if that is the case, there are two questions to ask yourself that will change that. One, are you listening to the opinions of others? If another person has brought you down, just remember other people’s opinions of you are none of your business. Now, if you are not happy with yourself, that is ok. What you do with that unhappiness makes all the difference. if you choose to criticize yourself, which in moderation can be a good thing, than do so constructively. Not happy with your shape? than use that feeling to eat healthier and work out. use your unhappiness to serve you. Once you start down the path of self-improvement you are already more valuable every day. Still looking to increase your value? begin by thinking of ways you can become more valuable…write some down and begin to work on them. I always suggest reading and learning new things. Another great way of feeling more valuable, help others with no expectation in return. Read to seniors at a senior center. help at your local VA, give blood, help at a meal program or shelter. Not only will you truly be making a difference, you will be more valuable to the world. I will share the easiest and most overlooked way of being valuable in tomorrow’s post!

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING YOU…

In a world where you can be anything, be yourself

this was a random quote I saw on Facebook. It is a great reminder that while people pull us in a million different directions it is vital we stay true to ourselves and our core values and beliefs. We will examine in greater detail how to do this and why it is important later in the week. For today let us just ponder this amazing thought.