Archive for the 'Personal Development' Category
Monday, January 28th, 2008
When most people first learn about the Law of Attraction, they focus on “fixing what’s wrong” in their lives. They try attracting more money to ease their financial strain, finding a soul mate to ease their loneliness, creating a more fulfilling career, better health - and overall more happiness and peace.
These initial steps are only natural because better life circumstances can definitely make us feel more secure and stable.
But if you work with the Law of Attraction long enough, you start to experience a deeper shift, something bigger happening within you. You develop a new awareness that it’s not about the “outer stuff” at all. It’s about who you are becoming through the mastery of your inner power. It’s about THE JOURNEY; the incredible journey to the center of yourself.
One of the most fascinating things about such a journey is the stunning realization that the outer stuff you were so intent on “fixing” doesn’t really matter. It has no power over you except the power you choose to give it. If you believe it matters, it matters. If you believe you can’t be happy unless all that outer stuff is “fixed”, you must find a way to fix it as quickly as possible - or else.
Ah, but when you surrender to THE JOURNEY, everything changes. You stop fixing and start allowing. You stop struggling and start enjoying. You stop fearing and start knowing. You stop surviving and start thriving. You stop basing your happiness on outer circumstances and events - and remember that it all comes from within you.
Rather than trying to make it through each day, you begin seeing your life as an amazing opportunity to make a bigger impact on the world around you. You start thinking about the lives you can touch and the joy you can bring to others. You start expanding your vision and giving birth to dreams that are grander than anything you dared imagine before. And rather than feeling fearful and intimidated by these bold dreams, you have a strong inner knowing that you’ll be given the tools and resources you need to make them happen.
Probably the most wonderful thing about this journey is that you stop taking the whole thing so seriously. You find yourself smiling a little wider, laughing a little louder and expanding with so much joy that you might burst with it! You suddenly find yourself weeping great tears of gratitude for even the smallest of blessings, gasping in awe at the beauty all around you and seeing everything in your life as a breathtaking miracle.
Even better, the more deeply you immerse yourself in this journey, all of that “outer stuff” that bothered you so much before starts transforming before your very eyes. As you heal your perspective, everything around you heals too - effortlessly and instantaneously. You realize that nothing is truly broken. Nothing needs fixing - just a tiny tweak in consciousness is enough to trigger a ripple of transformation that seeps into every corner of your life.
When you lift your perspective and stop trying to figure it out, when you truly start LIVING the Law of Attraction, you embark upon a journey that will change you forever - from the inside out.
Need more insight on the Law of Attraction? Visit LOA Insights today for tons of great articles and information about deliberate creation. Be sure to subscribe to the Law of Attraction Insights Newsletter - and receive Wendy’s guide, “Targeted Attraction: The Power of Focus in Manifestation” FREE! http://www.LOAinsights.com
Posted in Law of Attraction, Personal Development | 2 Comments »
Wednesday, September 19th, 2007
You’ll want to check out this huge list of personal development blogs by Priscilla Palmer! (I just found out that my Wings for the Heart site has been included, thanks Priscilla!)
Personal Development List (up to date):
Aaron Potts at Today is That Day
Adam Alexander at Adam’s Peace
Adam Kayce at Monk at Work
Adam Khoo at Adam Khoo’s Philosophies and Investing Insights
AgentSully at Life Learning Today
Al at 7pproductions.com
Alan Torres at Made to Be Great
Alex Shalman at AlexShalman.com
Alexander Kjerulf at The Chief Happiness Officer
Alexys Fairfield at Unraveling The Spiritual Mystique
Albert Foong at urbanmonk.net
Albert Lee at My Journey to Living an Exceptional Life
Alvaro at Sharp Brains Blog
Amber at Amber Waves
Amber at Random Mangus
Amie Ragan at Psychology of Clutter
Amit Sodha at The Power of Choice
Amy Hedin at There is no Maximum to Human Potential
Andrea Learned at Learned on Women
Andrea J. Lee at Money, Meaning, and Beyond
Andrew Brunelle at Andrew Brunelle.com
Andy Wibbels at AndyWibbels.com
Anita Pathik Law at Power of Our Way
Anmol Mehta at AnmolMetha.com
Ann at A Nice Place in The Sun
Anna Farmery at The Engaging Brand
Antonio Thornton at AntonioThornton.com
April Groves at Making Life Work For You
Argancel at C’eclair (for those who speak french)
Ariane Benefit at Neat & Simple Living
Ash aka Mr. Biggs at One Powerful Word
Ashley Cecil at The Painting Activist
Ask Lucid at Ask Lucid Spiritual Development
BK Diva at Bklyn’s Finest
Barb Lattin at Feels Like Magic
Barb Melloh at The Law of Attraction Info
Barbara Curtis at Mommy Life
Barbara Sliter at Creatorship
Belle Wong at Abundance Journal
Ben Yoskovitz at Instigator Blog
Benjamin at WOWNDADI
Beth at Butterfly Thoughts
Bill Perry at Lucid Blog
Billy Smith at The Organic Leadership Blog
Blogfuse at LifeDev
Bluskygirl at LifeGoddess.com
Brad Isaac at Achieve It
Brett Farmiloe, James Whiting, Noah Pollock and Zach Hubbell at Pursue The Passion
Brian Clark at Copyblogger
Brian Kim at briankim.net
Brian Lee at geniustypes.com
Brightfeathers at this time-this space
Brooke at Plain Advice
Bob at everyeveryminute
Bolly at Motivational Corner
Boston Gal at Boston Gal’s Open Wallet
Byron Katie at Byron Katie.com
Cam Beck at ChaosScenario
Cara Lumen at The Success Magnets With Cara Luman and Your Second Wind Blog
Carlon Haas at Possess Less Exist More
Carol Skolnick at Soul Surgery
Catherine Carter at Continuum Wellness
Cheif Family Officer at Cheif Family Officer
Chris at The Philosophy of Change
Chris at One is All and All is One
Chris Brogan at Chris Brogan.com
Chris Cade at Spiritual Short Stories
Chris Cree at SuccessCREEations
Chris Marshall at Martial Development
Chris Melton at Soupornuts.com
Chris Owen at Pink Apple
Christine Kane at ChristineKane.com
Christine Valters Painter at Abbey of the Arts
Christy Z at Totally Fabulous
Clyde at Feeling Good
Colin Beavan at No Impact Man
Colleen Wainwright of Communicatrix
Conceive, Believe, Achieve at Conceive, Believe, Achieve
Confessing at 7Confessions
Cooper at Wonderland or Not
Corrine Edwards at Personal Growth with Corrine Edwards
Crabby McSlacker at Cranky Fitness
Craig Harper at Motivational Speaker
Craze at Crazedreamer’s Thoughts
Curt Rosengren at Occupational Adventure
Cyres at Cyres Matters
Damian Carr at Soul Terminal
Daniel Roach at Daniel Roach.org
Daniel Sitter at Idea Sellers
Danny Kohn at Be Inspired Everyday
Daria Black at Figmeant Writing Studio and Community
Darlene Siddons at Spirited Boutique
Darren Rowse at Problogger.net
Dave Pollard at How to Save the World
Dave Schawbel at The Personal Branding Blog
Dave Schoof at Engaging the Disquiet
Davers at Language Trainers Blog
David Allen at The David Allen Company
David Bohl at Reflections on Balance
David Finch at David Finch.com
David Richeson at 360 Degree Success
David Rogers at How to Have Great Self Confidence
David Seah at David Seah.com
David Zinger at Slacker Manager
Dawn Vinson at Daydreaming on Paper
Dawud Miracle at dmiracle.com
Daylle Deanna Schwartz at Lessons from a Recovering Doormat
Dean Lacono at Law of Attraction for Beginners
Deb at Mind Body and Solar
Deb2012 at Fibromaylgia and Wellness
Debbie Call at Spirit In Gear
Debbie LaChusa at 10 Step Marketing Collection
Deborah aka Zephry1 at Climate of Our Future
Debra Moorhead at Debra Moorhead.com
Denise Mosawi at Destineering.com
Derrick Kwa at Sui Generis
Desika Nadadur at Desika Nadadur.com
Devlyn Steele at Tools To Life Guide
Diane Cese at Everything Yoga
Dick Richards at Come Gather Round
Dominic Tay at Personal Development for Winners
Don Simkovich at Hey Don
Donald Latumahina at Life Optimizer
Donald Trump and others at The Trump Blog
Donna Karlin at Perspectives
Donna Steinhorn at Rethinking
Douglas Eby at Talent Development Resources
Dr. Charles Parker at The Core Psych Blog
Dr. Hal at Northstar Mental fitness blog
Dr. Michael Shea at From Pain to Personal Gain
Dr. Tim Sharp at The Happiness Institute
Drew Rozell at Drew Rozell.com
Dwayne Melancon at Genuine Curiosity
E Murphy at The Active Life
Edward Mills at Evolving Times
Edward Smith at Bright Moment
Edith Brown at JETEAK PRESS WRITER BLOG
Edith Yeung at Dream Think Act
Elizabeth Badurina at Modern Gypsy
Elle Mgee at Ever Hopeful, Ever Thankful
Ellen Weber at Brain Based Business
Ellesse at Goal Setting College
Elly Jolly at Jolly Life Coaching
Emily G. W. Lilly at The Science of Waldorf Education
Emmanuel Lopez at The Adventures of Motivatorman
Enoch Tan at Mind Reality
Eric Boehme at The Blogging Boss
Eric Napier at Quotation Collection
Erin Pavlina at Erin Pavlina.com
Ev Nucci at My Life is Murphy’s Law
Evelyn Lim at Attraction Mind Map
Evelyn Rodriguez at Crossroads Dispatches
Evolving Excellence at Evolving Excellence
Farouk Radwan at 2KnowMySelf
Frank at Re/Transformation
Frank Kanu at Frank Uncovers Excellence in Leadership
Frank Roche at KnowHR Blog
Galba Bright at Tune Up Your EQ
Garr Reynolds at Presentation Zen
Gary at Personal Strategic Plan
Gary Evans at Good to Feel Good.com
Gerri at Absolutely True
Gilad Buchman at Sigsug
Gleb Reys at Personal Development Ideas
Glenda Watson Hyatt at Do It Myself Blog
Grayson at Modern Worker Blog
Greg Butler at holistic-personal-development.com
Greg Frost at ChargedAudio.com
Geoff R at Gearfire.net
George Vasu at 360
Golbguru at Money, Matter, and More Musings
Gretchen Rubin at Happiness Project
Gustav at Success-is-in-you.com
Guy Kawasaki at How to Change the World
Gyanish at Diethack
Halina Goldstein at The Inner Travel Journal
Hatter at Dreaming to Infinity
Hilda Carroll at Living Out Loud
Heather Goldsmith at A Creative Journal
Helgi Pall Einarsson at Everyday Wonderland
Henrik Edberg at The Positivity Blog
Holly Sumner at The Abundance Place
Honman at Open Your Mind to Prosperity
Hueina Su at Intensive Care for the Nurturer’s Soul
Ilyria at Finding Norway
Inkedmn at The Cranking Widgets Blog
Isabella Mori at MoriTherapy
Isha at Isha Yoga
Itzy Sabo at Email Overloaded
JC at Job Life Upgrade
Jacin Steele at Jacin Steele.com
Jack Vinson at Knowledge Jolt with Jack
Jackie at The Painted Veil
Jackie Ford at The Vegan Diet
Jacklyn Ker at Inspiring and Empowing Lives
Jarle Husefest at The Personal Development Blog
Jason and Michael at Black Belt Productivity
Jason Ivers at A Miracle a Day
Jason Womack at Fit and Effective
Jay White at dumb little man tips for life
Jean Browman at Transforming Stress Into Power and Cheerful Monk
Jeane Michelle Culp at Binding Ink
Jeanne May at Aspirations Plus
Jeannette Maw at Good Vibe Coaching
Jeanie Marshall at Empowerment and Meditation Blog and DailyAffirm: Positive Affirmations Day by Day
Jeff Davidson at Breathing Space Blog
Jeff Lilly at Druid Journal
Jeffrey Phillips at Think Faster
Jennifer at Goodness Graciousness
Jennifer Mannion at Heal Pain Naturally
Jenny Ryan at Using My Powers For Good
Jenny and Erin at Jenny and Erin
Jeremiah Owyang at Web Strategy by Jeremiah
Jerry Hart at Blue Print to emarketing
Jerry Lopper at Personal Growth
Jessa at clairvoyantGuidance.net
Jessica Hagy at Indexed
Jim stroup at Managing Leadership
Jim Walton at Black In Business
JoLynn Braley at The Fit Shack
Joan Schramm at Accelerating Momentum
Joanna Young at Coaching Wizardry
Joanne at I’m Happy Fish
JodeeB at You Already Know This Stuff
Joe Vitale at Dr. Joe Vitale at Zero
Joel at Fearless Dreams
John Chow at John Chow Dot Com
John Pratt at John Pratt International
John Place at John Place Online
John W. McKenna at The Leadership Epidemic
John Wesley at Pick The Brain
Jon at Join The Secret
Jon King at The Effective Life
Jon Willis at Self Happiness
Jonathan at Smart Wealthy Rich and Freelance Folder
Jordan at The Abe Blog
Jory Des Jardin at Pause: Meaningful Work
Josh Bickford at Reach For Magnificence and Reach for Magnificence
Josh Kaufman at The Personal MBA
Joshua Denny at Catalyst for Change
Judy Martin at The Work/Life Monitor
Julia Rogers Hamrick at Julia’s Blog: Journal of the Journey Home to Eden
Julie Bonner at Declutter It
Kailani at An Island Review
Kammie Kobyleski at Passion Meets Purpose
Kara-Leah Masina at Be Conscious Now
Karen at Journey with Water Learner
Karen Lynch at Live The Power
Karen Putz at A Deaf Mom Shares Her World
Karen Wallace at The Clearing Space
Karl Moore at Karl Blog.com
Karl Staib at Karl Staib.com
Kathy Mallary at Coaching Biz Tips
Keith Ferrazzi at Never Eat Alone
Kelly at Kellymentology
Ken Dow and Martin Cooper at Creativity Happens
Kenton Whitman at kentonwhitman.com
Kevin Kinchen at Creative Power of Thought
Killeris at Attitude, The Ultimate Power
Kim and Jason at Escape Adulthood
Kim George at Doing What You Can Do
Kimber Chin at Client K
Kirk Nugent at Kirk Nugent.com
Krishan Singh at Kundalini Yoga Blog
Kirsten Harrell at Ipopin
Krishna De at Biz Growth News and Todays Women in Business
Kristen King at Lively Women
K.L. Masina at Be Conscious Now
LJW at Heavenly Inclinations
Lauchlan Mackinnon at Think Differently
Laura at Heaven is Inside
Laura at Orgjunkie
Lawrence Cheok at A Long, Long Road
Laura Young at The Dragon Slayer’s Guide to Life
Leah Maclean at Working Solo
Leigh at The Lab
Lee Nutter at bmindful
Leo Babauta at Zen Habits
Liara Covert at Dream Builders
Life Reflection at Universe in a Single Atom
Lilifixt at Feel Happy
Lillie Ammann at A Writers Words, An Editor’s Eye
Linda Hernestal da Silva at Daily Power Walk
Linda Salazar at Awaken The Genie Within
Lisa Braithwaite at Speak Schmeak
Lisa Gates at Design Your Writing Life
Lisa Haneberg at Management Craft, Two weeks to a Breakthrough Blog, and Chile Pepper High
Lisa McGlaun at LifePrints - Good News for a More Compassionate World
Lisa Mills at Work at Home Mom Revolution
Lisa Q at 40s Singleness-Dating in Your 40s
Lisa Van Allen at Finish Strong
Liz at Internet Marketing Strategies
Liz Strauss at Successful Blog
Lodewijkvdb at How to be an Original
Lola Fayemi at Real World Spiritual and Personal Development
Lori Grant and Debbie at Smart Lemming
Lorie Marrero at The Clutter Diet Blog
Lorraine Cohen at Powerfull Living
Luciano Passuello at Litemind.com
Lucid at Spiritual Suggestions
Lumosity at Brain Health Blog
Lyman Reed at Creating a Better Life
Lyndon Antcliff at LyndonAntcliff.com and Cornwallseo.com
Lynn McTaggert at Living The Field
Lynne Morrell at Lynn Morrell.com and Musings From The Edge
MT at MindTWEAKS
Madame X at My Open Wallet
Maddy at Illuminated Minds Want to Know
Malathy Badri at Laws of Universe
Malcolm Campbell at The Round Table
Manny at Success Books
Maria Gajewski at Never The Same River Twice
Maria Garcia at Get Organized Now
Maria Palma at The Good Life
Marianne Williamson at Journal
Marion at Herbal Connection
Marilyn Jenett at Feel Free to Prosper and Feel Free to Prosper Ryze Network
Mark at The Naked Soul
Mark Forster at Get Everything Done
Mark LaPierre at The Winding Path
Mark McManus at Build Your Life To Order
Mark Sanborn at sanborn.com“>Mark Sanborn.com, and You Don’t Need a Title to Be a Leader
Mark W Shead at Productivity 501
Martin Avis at Kickstart Daily
Mary K at Becoming Your StellarSelf
Matthew Cornell at Matt’s Idea Blog
Matthew M. Costello at The Winning Attitude
Meg Haworth at Life Lessons From Your Soul
Melanie Benson Strick at The Success Blog
Merlin Mann at 43 Folders
Meryl K. Evans at Meryl.net
Michelle at aMusing My Genius
Michelle at Binding INK III
Michelle Moore at Happiness Blog
Michael Port at The Think Big Revolution
Michael Vanderdonk at TOACH Performance
Michael Werner at Dream Jobs Dialog
Mike Janssen at Opgestroopte Mouwen
Mike Kemski at BANABU
Mike St. Pierre at The Daily Saint
Millionaire Mommy Next Door at Millionaire Mommy Next Door
Mimi Lennox at Mimi Writes
Mizzy Bohemia at Miz BoheMia’s Rhapsody
Mona Grayson at Question The Mind
Monte Ladner at Fitness Rocks
Moneymonk at Moneymonk
Mr.Wang at Mr Wang Says So
MsJayy at Jackie Young Writes
My Everyday Planner at My Everyday Planner
My Mind on Books at My Mind on Books
Mystical Monkey at One Mystical Monkey
NCN at No Credit Needed
Nancy Mills at The Spirited Woman
Nancy Tierney at Unconditional Confidence
Neal Donald Walsh at Conversations With God
Neil Patel at Quick Sprout
Nic Askew at Monday 9AM Blog
Nick Smith at Life 2.0
Nita at Moments
Nneka at Balanced Life Center
Ordinary Mystic at The Ordinary Mystic
Organize-It at Organize-It
Pamala Slim at Escape From Cubicle Nation
Pamm Larry at My Secret Spiritual Dance
Patrick Combs at Good Thinking Co.
Patricia Klingler at Remarkable Women Speak
Patricia Singleton at Spiritual Journey of a Lightworker
Patti Digh at 37 Days
Paul at Paul’s Tips
Paul Piotrowski at Self Help Wisdom
Paula Kawal at Paula Kawal.com
Peggy Payne at Peggy Payne’s Boldness Blog
Penelope Trunk at The Brazen Careerist
Peter at I Will Change Your Life
Peter Aldin at Great Circle
Peter Haslem at Necessary Skills
Phil Gerbyshak at Make It Great
Philip J Eby at Dirt Simple.org
Philippe Matthews at Shockwealth
Pia at Courting Destiny
Polli at Polliwog’s Pond
Priscilla Palmer at Personal Development Demands Success
Priya Florence Shah at Soul Kadee
Quint Jensen at Win Your Mind
Raymond Salas at Zenchill Powertools
Real Modern Man at Real Modern Man
Reg Adkins at ElementalTruths
Rhonalala at The Harder I Work, The Luckier I Am
Ricardo at Wake Up Tiger
Rich Schefren at Strategic Profits
Rick Cockrum at Shards of Consciousness
Rick Cooper at The PDA Pro
Ririan at Ririanproject
RivKaz at Waterlearner
Rob at 7Breaths
Rob Cooke at Leave the Office
Robert at Compassionate Council
Robert at Myselfdev
Robert Ashcroft at PDSS Online
Robert Hruzek at Middle Zone Musings
Robin Skeen at Robin’s Reflections
Robin Yapp at Yapp 3.0
Robyn McMaster at Brain Based Biz
Roger Von Oech at Creative Think
Rolf F. Katzenberger at Evomend
Rosemary at Parkinson’s Disease and Peripheral Neuropathy
Rosa Say at Managing With Aloha Coaching
Ryan Marle at The Alpha Project
S.J. Yee at Personal Development for the Book Smart
Sam at Aquire Wisdom and Live with Passion
Scott Adams at The Dilbert Blog
Scott Andrew Bird at Scott Andrew Bird.com
Scott Berkun at Berkun Blog
Scott Bernadot at Keeping The Secret
Scott Ginsberg at Hello, My Name Is Blog
Scott H Young at Scott H Young
Scott McArthur at McArthur’s Rant
Secret Simon at The Secret of Life
Self Pursuit at Self Pursuit
Senia at Senia.com Positive Psychology Coaching
Seth Godin at Seth’s Blog
2 Know My Self at 2KnowMySelf
Shane Navratil at Zoomstart
Shaun Boyd at LifeReboot.com
Shauna Arthurs at Breathing Prosperity and Follow Your Path
Shaheen Lakhan at GNIF Brain Blogger
Simone at Dynamic Living
Simone and Mandy at Outfit Inspirations
Single Ma at Single Ma’s Fabulous Financials
Slade Roberson at Shift Your Spirits and Spiritual Blogging
Sleeping Dude at How to Wake Up Early
Sonora Jayne Case at Positive Realities Coaching
Sophiagurl at Life is Just Around the Corner
Spike at Organize It
Spiritlifter at Intentional Abundance
Stacy Brice at Virtualosophy
Start Up Coach at Take Charge of Your Life
Stay at Home Mom at Insanity’s Oasis
Stephanie and Jeffrey at Brains on Purpose
Stephen at HD bizblog
Stephen Hopson at Adversity University
Stephen Shapiro at Stephen Shapiro.com
Steve Beisheim at Jumping Ship Happens
Steve Grossman at Why I failed
Steve Harper at The Ripple Effect
Steve King at The Green Geek
Steve Moore at Personal Development Blog
Steve Olson at Steve-Olson.com
Steve Pavlina at stevepavlina.com
Steve Roesler at All Things Workplace
Steven Aitchison at Change Your Thoughts
Success Current at SuccessCurrent.com
Sue Ann Edwards at Always Embraces All Ways
Sunny Schlenger at SunCoach.com
Surjit at Gurushabad
Susan at Got2BeGreen
Susan R. Meyer at Life Work Cafe
Susan Sabo at Productivity Cafe
Susie at The Accidental Environmentalist
Susanna Kompogiorgas at Flowing Chi
Suzanne Bird-Harris at Learning Curve Coaching
Suzanne Falter-Barns at Discover Your Joy
Takeshi at Nakayima
Takuin Minamoto at Takuin.com
Taylor at Mom’s Out There
Ted Demopoulos at Blogging For Business
Teesha Moore at TeeshaMorre.com
Terry Starbucker at Ramblings From a Glass Half Full
Therapy Doc at Everyone Needs Therapy
Thom Quinn at Qlog
Tiffany at Little Red Suit
Tim Ferris at 4-Hour Workweek and Lifestyle Design Blog
Tim Taylor at My Agapic Life
Tim Warren at Personal Development4U
Tish at The Kat House
Todd Goldfarb at We The Change
Tom LeDree at Tom LeDree.com
Tom Peters at Tom Peters.com
Tom Spanton at TRCoach
Tom Van Brunscot of Transformation Economy
Tony Brigmon at Smile Notes
Tony Chimento at Living Forward
Tony D Clark at Success From The Nest
Torlink at You Create Reality
Travis A. Sinquefield at Disorganizational Behavior
Travis Wright at Cultivate Greatness
Tricia at Blogging Away Debt
Tricia at Loving Farewells
Trizoko at Trizoko.com
Trent Hamm at The Simple Dollar
Trevor Gay at Simplicity is the Key
Troy Worman at Orbit Now!
Tuck Self at Rebel Belle Blog
Tupelo Kenyon at Tupelokenyon.com
Ubertech at Geeks Guide To GTD
Vanessa Vinos at Musings from a Life Coach
Vera Nadine at Vera Nadine.com
Vickie at Contemplate This
Wade Millican at The Middle Way
Wally Bock at Three Star Leadership
Wan Qi at Meditation Forum Mantras
Wanda Grindstaff at Creating Abundant Lifestyles
Wendy Betterini at Wings For The Heart
Wild Bill at Passionate Blogger
Winsome at Winsome Gunning Art Walk
Zale Tabakman at Success Through Balance
Zorka at Essential Life Skills
and these collaborated sites:
Blogher’s Religion and Spirituality “department”
Burst Blog
Change This
Change Your Thinking
Daily PlanIt
Did I Get Things Done
GTD Wannabe
Jobman2
Joyful Jubilant Learning
Life Coaches Blog Stratagies for a Greater Life
Lifehack.org
Lifehacker.com
Phattitudes.com
TED Blog
Transformational Girlfriends
Transfoundation
Unclutterer
And these for those of you who speak Russian:
Anatoly Tikhomirov at Personal Efficacy
Armen Petrosyan at Thought Storage #428
Irina Chelnokova at Women Path
Michael Subach at LifeIdea.org
Sergey Biryukov at Personal Development in Russian
Vitaly Kolesnik at Kolesnik.ru
Vladimir Rundan at Living is Great!
Forums:
The Community for Excellence
Personal Development Partners
Del.icio.us, Digg, Reddit, Slashdot, Netscape, Techmeme, StumbleUpon, Fark, Fazed, MetaFilter, Drudge Report, Ma.gnolia, Stirrdup, Furl, BlueDot, Hacker News, and Waxy Links
Posted in Personal Development | 12 Comments »
Friday, September 7th, 2007
When most of us set a goal or try to improve our lives in some way, we focus only on the end result we want to achieve. We see it shimmering in the distance like the Promised Land, our own personal utopia.
We fantasize about how much better our lives will be when we reach our goal, and we can’t WAIT to get there!
As great as the end result can be, we can’t forget to enjoy the journey along the way. The biggest benefit of any goal we achieve is not what we “get” because of it, but WHO WE BECOME through the achievement of it.
Think about that for a minute.
If you put all your expectations into some distant end result, you miss out on the best part. Instead, focus on who you are now and who you are becoming in every new moment. Let this awareness dictate your actions so you can move forward easily, not by force but with passion and joy.
Enjoy the journey and let each moment be its own reward. That’s TRUE success.
Forever is composed of nows. - Emily Dickinson
Wendy
CreationThoughts.com
WingsfortheHeart.com
VisualizeProsperityBook.com
Posted in Goals & Dreams, Happy Thoughts, Personal Development | No Comments »
Tuesday, August 28th, 2007
Most of us have experienced plenty of endings in our lives. Sometimes they were situations and relationships that we were glad to be rid of, and sometimes . . . not so much.
Either way, endings hurt. With them comes a feeling of loss, emptiness and aimlessness that leads us to ask, “What now?”
As painful and sad as endings might be, they ALWAYS come with an opportunity for a fresh start. The closing of one door causes more to open.
I think the key to getting through the transition is to focus on the good stuff. Endings themselves are usually unpleasant - and sometimes downright devastating. But if you can keep a bit of perspective by focusing on the more positive aspects, you can prevent it from turning everything to mud.
If you’ve found yourself standing at the brink between an ending and a new begining, here are 3 simple tips to help you bridge the gap:
1) Remember the good times. Whatever situation just ended for you, there are undoubtedly some happy memories you can recall that will ease the sting. Focusing on the good stuff won’t take away the pain necessarily, but it will help balance it somewhat so that not *everything* is bad.
2) Be grateful for what this situation contributed to your life. Perhaps you learned a lot about yourself, you overcame fears and insecurities, you learned how to stand up for yourself - whatever it is, keep it in the forefront of your mind. What you’ve gone through had a reason, if none other than to serve as a powerful lesson for you.
3) Consciously open yourself to something better. As heartbreaking as some endings can be, we often make the pain worse by believing that it’s “all over.” We’ll never love again, never have such a great job again, never feel happy again. This fatalistic view is pretty common when we’re in the midst of a loss. With time comes a wider perspective and we begin to realize that we are surrounded by limitless opportunities to create more for ourselves. We realize that as much as we didn’t want to lose what we had, it was holding us back in some way. Acknowledge that you can create something better in its place.
Turn your face to the sun and allow healing to flood your heart and soul. Remember that every ending is merely the back side of another step forward on your path.
Wendy
CreationThoughts.com
WingsfortheHeart.com
VisualizeProsperityBook.com
Posted in Happy Thoughts, Personal Development | No Comments »
Friday, August 10th, 2007
I’ve never been good at caring for plants. Either I’d forget to water them, water them too much, or put them in a spot where they couldn’t get adequate sunlight and they’d die. I’d pretty much given up on trying to turn my thumb green.
Several months ago I was browsing through my local home improvement store when I was instantly attracted to a “Lucky Bamboo” plant. It had 26 stalks of bamboo all twisted, tied and formed into a gorgeous spiral design.
Something about it just called to me. It reminded me of gentle dancing, swaying easily to the rhythm of life. I had to buy it, I couldn’t help myself - even though I worried I was sentencing this beautiful creation to certain death!
When I got home, I read the care instructions carefully and made sure to give it what it needed. I placed it on a high shelf near my desk (far out of curious kitty reach), watered it daily and sent positive, loving thoughts to it constantly.
It has THRIVED! I’ve been so amazed at the way it’s grown, just exploding with health and vitality. (I’m still not sure if this reflects my own horticulturist abilities or the hardiness of this type of plant, LOL.)
Yesterday I noticed that the plant was getting too big for the pot it came in, so I decided to buy a bigger one. This type of plant doesn’t need soil, the roots just float in water along with some decorative rocks to keep it stable. So while I was out I also picked up some more rocks to fill the larger pot.
Once I started to transplant it to the larger pot, I was horrified to discover that the twisty-ties used to keep the stalks in a spiral pattern were cutting cruelly into the stalks! The plant had grown a lot more than I first realized, leaving deep cut marks where the ties were.
What GUILT flowed into me! Here I was being so attentive to this beautiful creature, speaking kindly, giving it plenty of water and indirect light - while the entire time it was being slowly strangled to death! Ugh.
I immediately began cutting away those restrictive ties and the stalks all fell outward, undoing the spiral design, but I didn’t care. I cut a length of soft cotton fabric to secure them upright, finished filling the new pot with pearl stones and water - and I swear I could hear the plant sighing with relief.
It reminded me of the days when I used to work in a business office and I’d come home immediately after work, desperate to shed the restrictive suits and body-squashing pantyhose. Nothing ever felt so good as slipping into a comfy pair of jeans and flip-flops! 
That’s how I imagined this plant must feel, being freed from its bonds.
Here’s what it looks like now:
It may not be as “pretty” as it was in the spiral pattern, but at least it has room to grow now. I have no doubt it would have died if I’d left those ties on.
And you know me - I always see symbols in things like this! Symbols for the way we live our lives, the way we treat ourselves.
This post isn’t just about a plant. It’s about restriction, and constriction. It’s about giving yourself the room you need to grow into the person you were meant to be.
Too often we try to “mold” ourselves into something we think we should be (or what others think we should be) - but that is never as comfortable as just being genuinely ourselves.
Think about the areas of your life where you are being restricted or constricted in some way.
- Are you placing too many limitations on yourself?
- Are other people placing limitations on you?
- Are you trying to be something you are not?
- Are you avoiding being who you really WANT to be?
Think about it, and then grab your pruning shears and cut those freakin’ ties off!
Now, sigh deeply. Doesn’t that feel better?
Thrive baby, thrive!
Wendy
CreationThoughts.com
WingsfortheHeart.com
VisualizeProsperityBook.com
Posted in Beliefs & Expectations, Goals & Dreams, Personal Development | No Comments »
Friday, June 1st, 2007
Lately I keep hearing that song, “You Can’t Hurry Love” running through my head. I’m not trying to hurry love . . . but I am trying to hurry other stuff! 
I’ve been in a state of urgency for the past week or so, feeling like I’ve got to hurry up and finish the project I’m working on so I can hurry and move on to the next one, so I can hurry up and . . . need I go on?
Last evening after dinner I took a break to sit out on the deck and see if I could figure out why I feel so rushed lately. I tried to disconnect from stressful thoughts and tune into what’s happening inside.
As I gazed up into the sky and watched the sun sink below the horizon, I noticed a swarm of dragonflies buzzing quickly over the roof of my house. There were dozens of them, swooping and swirling through the air, around and around. I’ve never seen dragonflies do that before, so I watched for awhile. It turns out there was a cloud of gnats or other small insects in the air (I could barely see them because the sun was in my face), and the dragonflies were eating them.
What struck me the most was how gracefully they went about their busy work. They moved so fluidly and effortlessly - exactly the opposite of how I was feeling at the moment.
When I went inside a short while later, I looked up the Dragonfly in my Medicine Cards book and was surprised to see that Dragonflies often represent ILLUSION.
Instantly a thought occurred to me. Somewhere deep inside do I have the impression that things will be better once I reach some vague destination? Is THAT why I’m hurrying? Because things aren’t perfect in my life right now, and I want to hurry and get to where they will be?
HA! I should know by now that there is no such thing as perfection. Even more importantly, there is nowhere to “get to.” There is only right now. Here. In this moment.
It suddenly all made sense to me, why I feel so anxious, why I feel like I’m hurrying. I’m either running away from something or toward something instead of experiencing the beauty of the moment.
So you know what I have to do now, right? Why, enjoy the journey! Whoops, I knew that, but I somehow keep forgetting to actually DO it. Well, it’s not like I wasn’t enjoying the journey before, just maybe trying to shorten it a bit. Needlessly.
What about you? Are you trying to rush through something to reach a better place? Are you buying into an illusion in your own life? Tune into Dragonfly and break down the illusions that prevent you from experiencing the joy of now.
Wendy
CreationThoughts.com
WingsfortheHeart.com
VisualizeProsperityBook.com
Posted in Happy Thoughts, Personal Development | No Comments »
Monday, May 14th, 2007
WELL, what a difference a few days can make! I’m feeling so much better than I have over the past couple of weeks. All the cleaning and organizing I did Friday and Saturday made a huge difference in my physical surroundings, and I took Sunday off to spend with my mom, mom-in-law, sister-in-law, and grandmother (all the great Moms in my life! :-)). It was so nice to just relax and enjoy a beautiful day. The menfolk were there too: hubby, my brother, my father-in-law and my grandfather. Oh, and my nephew and niece. We had quite a full house but it was a lot of fun.
This morning I woke up feeling very much renewed and ready to begin again. I don’t know what yet exactly, but I do feel much more optimistic about things in general. I was even inspired to take a stroll around my yard and capture some images of “new life” sprouting everywhere.
The article below is one I wrote back in 2005, but I’m not sure if I’ve ever posted it in this blog before. It’s about spring cleaning your life, which is pretty much what I did over the past few days - and it makes a world of difference.
If you’ve been feeling tired, overwhelmed, uninspired or just ready for a change, read on!
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Spring Cleaning Your Life
Do you ever get into those moods where you just can’t stand to look at clutter anymore and start filling garbage bags? Maybe it’s Spring Fever, but I have a deep desire for simplicity lately. Not just in my physical surroundings, but emotionally, professionally, and spiritually too — I have been “purging” the unnecessary from my life.
This is a difficult process, because while certain things are no longer serving me, they did at one time. There is a bit of nostalgia attached to these things. It’s like saying a permanent goodbye to old friends. Many of us tend to cling to the familiar, even if we don’t enjoy it or benefit from it anymore. We get stuck in rut after rut, afraid to let go of what we have, because even though it’s not great, at least it’s ours.
However, the problem arises when we pray for better circumstances, but we don’t make room for them. It’s like asking the universe to fill our glass with sweet lemonade when it’s already crammed full of sour lemons. We need to remove the lemons, wash out the glass, and then specify exactly what we want that glass to be filled with.
We’ve all heard the phrase, “nature abhors a vacuum.” This works on a spiritual and emotional level too. When you eliminate the clutter from your surroundings (inner and outer), the universe will rush to fill that space. Fill it with what, you ask? That all depends on your intent.
What do you want to create in your life? Give some thought to these areas:
Physical — are your surroundings cluttered with books you’ve read (or intend to read), papers that need to be filed or disposed of, clothing that no longer fits you (or suits your taste), and items you don’t know what to do with? Do you find yourself involved in activities that have become a burden? What about your job? Are you fulfilled by your daily professional activities? At the end of the day, do you feel a sense of satisfaction or boredom?
Emotional — are you clinging to relationships and situations that no longer serve you? Are you feeling burdened by “baggage” from your past? Are you holding grudges against those who have wronged you? Are you stuck in negative, self-destructive behaviors?
Financial — what does your budget look like? Are you struggling to pay your bills each month? Do your monthly expenses usually exceed your income? Do you have a lot of unnecessary expenses for things you could easily live without?
Spiritual — are you held back by childhood conditioning, or letting others define your spiritual beliefs? Have your spiritual practices become nothing more than the act of reciting a few words by rote once a week? Do you feel an inner emptiness, sadness or hopelessness?
You have it in your power to change anything you don’t like. Keep in mind it is a process though, you won’t change all of it overnight. Make a list of the items from above. Write down anything in your daily existence that is no longer bringing you joy — and eliminate it. Ouch. I know that’s a hard thing to consider doing. Even though these things no longer serve us, we still feel fearful about releasing them. Work slowly if you have to. One baby step at a time!
Start with the physical clutter first, as that is one of the easiest problems to remedy, and one that often causes us to feel confused and stagnated. Go through your house one room at a time and be ruthless in your cleaning. Toss out anything you don’t need, and neatly file away things you must keep. Be honest with yourself. If you haven’t used something in the past year, what are the chances you’ll need it again in the near future?
Once your physical surroundings are cleared, you’ll probably find yourself feeling inspired and able to tackle the larger (and more difficult) emotional, financial and spiritual clutter. This is also a process, so be patient with yourself. Take your time, but be just as ruthless as you were with the physical clutter. If it’s no longer serving you, say a tearful goodbye and pitch it.
What do you want to replace these things with? It’s crucial to be absolutely clear about that before you begin this process. Otherwise you might end up with different, yet still unfavorable, circumstances. Think about the categories above, and ask yourself what you really want to create there. Write it down, and read it to yourself every day. State it aloud to the universe. Ask for it. Affirm it. Welcome it.
Will these new circumstances fall into your lap, fully formed? Some may, yes. Some might require a little elbow grease from you, and that’s okay! Just keep working toward what you want. The process is quite enjoyable once you release your fear and immerse yourself in the experience.
Think of it as a sacrificial process. Decide what you really want, and then ask yourself what you’re willing to give up to get it. Don’t let fear hold you back. Know that what you release will be replaced with something much, much better.
Wendy
CreationThoughts.com
WingsfortheHeart.com
VisualizeProsperityBook.com
Posted in Goals & Dreams, Intentions, Personal Development | No Comments »
Sunday, August 20th, 2006
The other day I was clearing out my home office in preparation for our upcoming move, when I stumbled upon a box of supplies left over from an old business opportunity I had undertaken several years ago. It was a perfectly fine business opportunity, but it wasn’t for me. Looking back, I knew even then that it wasn’t right for me, but I had determinedly ignored my inner voice and pursued it anyway.
As I sorted through this box of paperwork and supplies, I felt my face flame with embarrassment and regret. How could I have been so stupid to think I could ignore my true calling and pursue another path because it seemed easier at the time? Evidence that revealed how hard I had tried to make it work was strewn throughout the box: records of appointments and training classes I’d attended, brochures I’d designed, sales letters I had painstakingly written, and even motivational notes I’d written to encourage myself to keep going.
It’s an uncomfortable feeling, facing a box full of regrets. I thought about all the time I’d wasted on that business opportunity, and wondered where I’d be today if I had just listened to my inner calling from the beginning.
As I began emptying the box and shredding old paperwork, I began to feel a little lighter and my thoughts began to drift. Was the time I spent on that business opportunity really wasted? In hindsight, I can see that it wasn’t. I learned so much from that experience, some of it having to do with business - but mostly about myself. Even though it wasn’t my true calling, I would still have to acknowledge that it was time well-spent. I simply took a detour on my life path. Perhaps my reasons (fear and denial) weren’t the most lofty, but the experience was no less valuable.
Perhaps you have a box full of regrets hidden in your closet, even if only on an emotional level. Do you regret jobs you’ve held in the past, or relationships you clung to even when they didn’t seem to contribute anything of value to your life? Do you wish you had gone to college when you were younger, or do you wish you had chosen another major? Are there choices you made in the past that make you cringe with embarrassment now?
Most of us have a tendency to be really hard on ourselves, expecting perfection and nothing less. But it’s unrealistic to expect ourselves to make perfect decisions every single time. There are too many unknown factors that could come into play, and even when we’re absolutely sure we’re making the right choice, it might not turn out the way we expected.
When you stop to think about it, there really aren’t any right or wrong decisions in life. Each choice simply moves us down a different path, and we can learn something valuable from each of them. Just because something didn’t work out like we thought it would doesn’t mean it wasn’t worthwhile.
However, in my experience, the journey becomes much more enjoyable if we take the time to listen to our heart. When we let our inner voice guide us to the choices that feel most right, that’s when the real magic begins to happen. Our lessons become richer and more meaningful. We feel a sense of excitement and inspiration as we embark on a new pathway with each choice we make. Even our “mistakes” seem more valuable, if not downright funny. We can laugh at our foibles and learn from them. Most importantly, we realize that the journey itself is the destination.
As the saying goes, “hindsight is 20/20″. Our vision is much clearer when we look back with the knowledge we have today. But if we always had the ability to see the big picture, wouldn’t that defeat the purpose of a life spent learning and growing? We’re not supposed to have all the answers right now. I think many of us tend to forget that from time to time.
My box of regrets is gone now, and in fact, I no longer see them as regrets. Instead, I’ve got a big empty box that I’m eager to start filling with new experiences. Will I look back and feel red-faced about them at a future time? Possibly. Or maybe I’ll simply smile and be grateful for the chance to learn and grow some more.
Wendy
CreationThoughts.com
WingsfortheHeart.com
VisualizeProsperityBook.com
Posted in Personal Development | No Comments »
Monday, June 26th, 2006
I’m reading through a new book I bought recently, Creating a Charmed Life by Victoria Moran. It features a collection of 75 short essays about how to bring more joy, meaning, and simplicity into your life.
One of my favorite essays from the book (so far) is called, “Give Up Your Mountain.” By “mountain” she means the foreboding issue that stands between you and the life you want to be living. Everyone’s mountains are different. For one person, it might be haunting memories of an abusive childhood, for another it could be an addiction, for someone else it could be financial struggle. She mentions the necessity of surrendering to situations you can’t change, and continuing on to create a meaningful life in spite of them. Wonderful advice, and this essay holds a lot of truth.
But something else occurred to me as I was reading, and that is, the mountain behind the mountain. Sometimes what we think is our biggest mountain is simply an anthill at the base of the true mountain lurking behind the clouds.
Some people think that financial lack is their mountain. Then, by some miracle, they win the lottery or inherit a large sum of money. But their problems don’t vanish, do they? If anything, they experience more stress, family problems intensify, and everything seems to get worse. If their mountain was caused by lack, the money should have dissolved it. Yet, a surprisingly large percentage of people who win the lottery are broke again with a few years.
Another good example is people who are overweight and believe that everything in their lives would be better if they could just lose the weight. Once they do lose it, what happens? They feel vulnerable and insecure, turn to food for comfort and regain the weight. In situations like these, we can see clearly that there was something else behind the immediate struggles, something that wasn’t addressed in order to resolve the issues completely.
There are exceptions to these examples, of course, but my point is that our mountains usually exist for a reason. Most often, they are based on a fear, thought, or belief about ourselves or our lives. Once we break down the initial mountain, we see the bigger mountain looming large in the background, and we realize that our work has just begun.
Or worse, we break down the initial mountain, and we DON’T see the bigger mountain, and we wonder why we’re still not happy.
So, how do we conquer the bigger mountain? How can we even tell why it’s there? In my own experience, it requires a lot of self-discovery. We must be willing to explore ourselves fully, question our beliefs, dig into our past, work through any unresolved issues, and make better choices.
Even more challenging, we must overcome the fear of facing the hidden parts of ourselves. Our fear could accurately be called the mountain behind the mountain behind the mountain!
But the beauty of this process is that once we face our fear, it doesn’t seem so big anymore. We can chip away at our mountains a piece at a time, keep the momentum going, and our lives will begin to transform.
It’s important to point out also that there’s no end to this process. We are never really done with learning and growing into ourselves more deeply. Our lives will always have room for improvement. We may also have periods of time where we feel uncomfortable with the work we’re doing, and start backsliding with our efforts. New mountains could spring up in our path, seemingly overnight.
But if we continue our efforts, day by day, week by week, and even year by year, we will make progress. We will learn how to love our mountains because of the way they strengthen us, and what they teach us. And we will realize that even though it wasn’t an easy journey, it was definitely worthwhile in the end.
Wendy
CreationThoughts.com
WingsfortheHeart.com
VisualizeProsperityBook.com
Posted in Beliefs & Expectations, Personal Development | No Comments »
Sunday, June 18th, 2006
My husband and I have an ongoing battle about the “stuff” we accumulate in our home. While I do admit to some packrat tendencies of my own, I also like things nice and clean and simple. I go through periods of time when I’m gathering and storing up stuff (like books, clothing, office supplies, and other miscellaneous items) — but then I also get into moods when I realize I don’t need all this stuff hanging around and I either sell it or give it away. I love those “purging” phases because my surroundings feel so much calmer and more open, rather than crammed full of clutter and chaos.
My darling husband, on the other hand, feels that it’s a sin to get rid of something that has the remotest possibility of usefulness, now or in the future. He still has clothing he wore when he was in high school. He saves every scrap of wire, every stray screw or nut, every magazine he’s ever read. Even worse (in my mind) is that he isn’t satisfied with the stuff he’s already got, he needs to add to it consistently. And on goes our daily battle - me trying to clear out stuff, and him trying to cram even more in to replace it.
It’s not just my husband though. Our societal conditioning encourages excess. Just look at the portion sizes of restaurant meals, or all the nifty electronic gadgets that we supposedly can’t live without. While I’m not necessarily opposed to these things, I also think that focusing too much on ever increasing amounts of “stuff” can distance us from our inner selves. We become distracted and disconnected, and that can lead to feelings of stress and emptiness.
So, how do we simplify our lives with all this “stuff” in the way? Do we need to donate all our possessions to charity and move to the Himalayas? Thankfully, no. But we do need to take a look at what we are filling our lives with, and develop a simpler way to live.
Whether you or someone you live with has the packrat mindset, here are some very simple tips to simplify your life:
1) Clear out the unnecessary. I know, that’s really subjective, and what seems unnecessary to one might not seem unnecessary to another. That’s my dilemma with my husband and all his stuff. He feels strongly that he needs all that stuff, and it’s not excessive in the least. I would love to have a dumpster party and get rid of 90% of it, but I know that wouldn’t go over too well. So, just do your best. Go through your own stuff and be honest about whether you really need something, or not. Get rid of what you can. If your spouse is the packrat and he or she refuses to let go of their stuff, then move on to the next step.
2) Organize what’s left. In my own situation, I think my husband’s packrat tendencies wouldn’t bother me so much if he was at least well-organized. Unfortunately, he’s not. His stuff is strewn throughout various areas of our home, all jumbled and chaotic. Even when he needs one of the precious items he can’t live without, he can’t find it! So I’ve decided to compromise on the *amount* of stuff and instead focus on the *placement* of the stuff. Nowadays it’s really easy to stay organized with all the handy, affordable organizers available. I’ve already begun sorting the stuff in our home and grouping like items together, and I will be purchasing some of those nifty plastic drawer storage units. With everything packed neatly away, our surroundings will at least look and feel simpler.
3) Make time for simplicity. Even if we can’t completely simplify our lives, we can definitely make time to connect with ourselves in quiet, simple ways. Things like meditation, prayer, quiet reading time, or even sitting in a park for a few minutes can refresh us and make us feel more relaxed. The important thing to remember is: chaos outside encourages chaos within; and peacefulness within will promote peacefulness in our surroundings. Spending time honoring our connection with our inner selves is a far more powerful solution than anything we do externally.
In the end, living a simpler life is really a choice we make moment to moment. Simplicity is a state of mind. It’s about learning how to let “stuff” enhance our lives, without relying on it for our happiness. Rather than seeking fulfillment from the latest greatest gadgets, we simply need to turn within and notice that it’s already there, waiting for us.
Wendy
CreationThoughts.com
WingsfortheHeart.com
VisualizeProsperityBook.com
Posted in Personal Development | No Comments »
