No more excuses . . . .

Thank you Nike.

Hello Monday!! . . . .

Dear Monday,

Thank you for coming around the corner 

when I need you most!

You always show up at the perfect time! My  weekend was great, but I always need you to get me back on track. You inspire me!! You always give me the boost I need to get it together. 

I love and appreciate you, 

Kisses, Connie

I've got a busy start to my week, then will hop a plane to Miami for a meeting and a little R & R. My friends, I hope you find the determination, clarity, willpower, creativity , and strength that you need to make it through another week.

Here's to a beautiful week!

That wonderful motivator . . . .

I have posted many times on this blog about facing your fears, and have even referred to the phrase 'no fear' many times, but we all know that having some fear in your life is a huge motivator! In business, when you fear your competition, it motivates you to work harder, build a better team, or provide better customer service. In life, fear can protect us from danger. It makes us more aware of our surroundings, keeps us on our toes, and hopefully helps us make smarter decisions. So when I talk about 'no fear', I am referring to that wonderful motivator that will force you to get out of your box. Unfortunately, it is so easy to get stuck in that box! We develop habits that prevent us from moving forward....trying new things....or taking reasonable risks. When you let fear suffocate you, it can prevent you from making any changes in your life. Don't forget.....life is meant for you to experience it! It is there for YOU! Use those pesky fears as your motivator! Allow them to move you forward, not hold you back!

"The greatest mistake you can make in life

is to be continually fearing

you will make one."

-Elbert Hubbard

Happy Monday!

Make it a great week!

It's a brand new week . . . .

Have a little too much fun this past weekend? 

Eat too much? Drink too much? Play a little too hard? I've said this many times.....it's a new day! Don't beat yourself up.... just make sure you get back on track immediately. Albert Einstein once said, "Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." You and I know better. If we want change, we can't expect it if we're repeating old habits. You now have in front of you a brand new week! No excuses.  Slip right back into those healthy habits that leave you feeling strong & satisfied. I promise, you'll be so glad you did.  

"Motivation is what gets you started.

Habit is what keeps you going."

-Jim Rohn

Photo by Nicole Hill Gerulat

5 Must-Read Life Lessons from Gandhi...

1. Be the Change

“You must be the change you want to see in the world.”

Be the example, be the leader.  If you lead properly people will follow, and together you will change the world.  Anyone can complain, anyone can blame, and most do, but if you desire to change, then “you” be the change.

2. Ask the Right Questions

“The power to question is the basis of all human progress.”

The quality of your life is in direct proportion to the quality of the questions that you dare to ask.  Are you asking the right questions?  Are you asking the right people?  You can’t get answers, without questions; you can’t make progress, without an inquiring mind.

3.  Always Act

“Have a bias towards action – let’s see something happen now. You can break that big plan into small steps and take the first step right away.”

If you’re going to be biased, be biased towards making something happen today.  Tomorrow never comes, any progress to be made, must be made today.  It must be made right now! If you don’t act now, you don’t have a future, just a longer today.  Gandhi said, “The future depends on what we do in the present.”

4. Forgive

“The weak can never forgive.  Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.”

It’s not “weaklings” who are quick-to-forgive; it’s those who are strongest.  The ability to forgive quickly is a sign of strength.  How strong are you? If you’ve been weak in the past, you can begin today to be strong.

5. Monitor Your Beliefs

“Your beliefs become your thoughts.  Your thoughts become your words.  Your words become your actions.  Your actions become your habits.  Your habits become your values.  Your values become your destiny.”

In short, your beliefs will create your destiny.  What do you believe?  What do you believe about yourself, your future, and your potential?  What you believe, you will surely become.

Mr. Self Development is an author who teaches a motivational and practical guide to success. Please visit him at Mr. Self Development.com.

Let them see you change and grow . . . .

Everyone thinks about changing the world, but no one thinks about changing himself. Nothing inspires and motivates people as much as watching someone else change for the better. When you are willing to offer yourself up as a role model for personal change, you'll motivate others faster than anything else you can do.

-Steve Chandler

Motivational . . . . period.

This video gave me chills.  It's call The Deathcrawl. We all have much more in us than we realize.  

People often underestimate the magnitude of what they can accomplish. A leader's job is to help them see their potential.

True lies . . . .

In Steve Chandler's book, 100 Ways to Motivate Yourself, he describes a time when his 12 year old daughter participated in a school poetry reading in which she had to write a "lie poem" about how great she was. She was to make up untruths about herself that made her sound unbelievably wonderful. By "lying" to herself, she was creating a vision of who she wanted to be. He states that most of us are unable to see the truth of who we could be. His daughter's school developed an unintended solution to that difficulty: If it's hard for you to imagine the potential in yourself, then you might want to begin by expressing it as a fantasy, as did his daughter. He sums it up this way -- Think up some stories about who you would like to be. Your subconscious mind doesn't know you're fantasizing (it either receives pictures or it doesn't). Soon you will begin to create the necessary blueprint for stretching your accomplishments. Without a picture of your highest self, you can't live into that self. Fake it until you make it. The lie will become the truth.

By now, you already know that this works both ways: if you are continually telling yourself that you're not good enough, that you can't accomplish a task, or that you will never reach your goals, it too becomes your reality. Believe in yourself and what you are capable of doing. You have many talents! Believe in them, and cultivate them! Nurture them ♥, and you will see that your dreams can become your reality. 

About the book: Live the way you've always wanted to live! 100 Ways to Motivate Yourself is packed with techniques for breaking down negative barriers and pessimistic thoughts that prevent you from fulfilling your goals and dreams. Motivational speaker Steve Chandler helps you change your way of thinking and turn it around to what "will be." His ideas will help you create an action plan for living out your vision.

Find your wings! . . . .

Everyone has inside him a piece of good news. The good news is that you don't know how great you can be! How much you can love! What you can accomplish! And what your potential is!

-Anne Frank


Happy Friday!
Have a lovely weekend!


Photo via Google Images

Do it today . . . .

You don't need endless time and perfect conditions. Do it now. Do it today. Do it for twenty minutes and watch your heart start beating.

-Barbara Sher

Press here to begin.

Promise yourself . . . .

Photo by TJ Scott via flickr

The big secret in life is . . .

. . . . that there is no big secret. Whatever your goal, you can get there if you're willing to work.

Motivation is when your dreams

put on work clothes.

-Unknown author

Embrace the gift of possibility . . . .

Adventure isn't something that's reserved for the extreme athlete or the daredevil. It is an expression of your heart's intention and passion for life. It's the ability to think big about who you are, how you live, and what you can do in the world, whether you're climbing mountains, practicing Sun Salutations, or listening to a friend. It is the willingness to embrace challenge and move toward success. It is the acknowledgment that total commitment does not mean blind faith or brazen disregard, but confidence and belief in the face of challenge. By definition, adventure has an unknown outcome. If something has a predetermined outcome, it's not an adventure but a packaged experience or an amusement ride. Life is uncertain! Being adventurous means seeing that uncertainty as the gift of possibility....When you approach everything with the spirit of adventure, you infuse your life with vitality and radiance. You find a level of engagement and awareness with everything around you that is deeply satisfying and joyous. Your summits await.

Article by Matt Walker. Matt is an adventure consultant with Inner Passage in Tucson, Arizona. Article via Yoga Journal magazine.

Photo via InnerPassage.net

You CAN get back on track . . . .

You ate too much. You drank too much. Don't be so hard on yourself! The holidays will always include more indulging than normal. Step away from the scales, and give yourself a day or so to get back in to your healthy lifestyle. Take stock of where you are and where you want to be. Visualize yourself at your ideal weight and start back on that positive track once again. Be happy you have a chance to start over fresh! Love yourself for caring enough to take care of your body. You only get one.

Engage your mind . . . .

"Exercise alone provides a lot

of physical benefits.

However, if you also adopt a strategy that engages your mind while you exercise, you can get a whole host of psychological benefits fairly quickly."

Playtime . . . .

I believe there is a hidden child in all of us that wants to play. For some reason, as we get older, we play less often. . . . but we shouldn't! We need the pleasure of play like we need our vitamins. It keeps us fit, both mentally & physically. Stuart Brown, M.D. says it energizes us and enlivens us. Its eases our burdens. It renews our natural sense of optimism and opens us up to new possibilities. It produces joy, freedom and satisfaction. I'm sure it must be our brain's favorite way to learn! I believe we reveal what kind of person we are while we're playing, and it is said that you can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. So, as Michael Jordan once said....."Just play. Have fun. Enjoy the game."

"We don't stop playing because we grow old;

we grow old because we stop playing."

-George Bernard Shaw

Dont' give up . . . .

Photo via One League Artists

Photo via Google Images

"The number one reason why people give up so fast is because they tend to look at how far they still have to go, instead of how far they've gotten."

- Vaibhav Shah

If you've started. . . . hang in there and keep going! You will be so glad you did!

If you haven't started. . . . now is a perfect time to hit the streets or treadmill. Take your favorite music with you and make it fun! I'm here to cheer you on! You'll have more energy, get sick less often, have a better attitude, more self-confidence, and have less stress. There are so many reasons to exercise, and you owe it to yourself to get, and stay healthy. You, after all, are the most important person in your life.