Motivational Minute (12_50)

Quote of the day:

“If someone listens, or stretches out a hand, or whispers a kind word of encouragement, or attempts to understand a lonely person, extraordinary things begin to happen.” -- Loretta Girzartis

Consider:

It’s been said that people are lonely because they build walls instead of bridges. How true!

Most people tend to be a little selfish. it is human nature to “look out for number one,” to put your own needs and desires before the needs of others. It’s easy enough to get caught up in your own life and problems, but when you do that, you’re creating a bigger problem by closing yourself off to many wonderful things in life, and many wonderful people.

When you build bridges by reaching out to and connecting with others, it may add a few problems and complications, but it’s well worth the effort because it also brings warmth, friendship, love, and other blessings into your life. It is a matter of give and take, and it does require some effort, patience, and perseverance. The bridge doesn’t build itself, and sometimes others aren’t so keen at first to see you building in their direction. But if everyone got stuck in the “me-first” mentality and built nothing but walls, the world would be a terribly lonely place.

When you begin to think in terms of what others want and need, the framework is in place. Then that bridge grows a little stronger each time you give of yourself to that hard-to-reach person. It might take a little courage to cross that bridge the first time, when you’re not sure how well it’s going to hold or how you’ll be received on the other side, but you’ll be glad you did.

Wishing you all the best,

Coach Dana

(Compliments of http://www.actionvisioncoaching.com/)

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Motivational Minute (12_49)

Quote of the day:

“Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God's kindness: kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile.” -- Mother Teresa

Consider:

When someone does something special for you, doesn’t it make you feel loved?

You can do the same for others—and I’m not just talking about giving a gift on a special occasion to a special someone, although that can be wonderful too. I’m referring to the little things that you can do for anyone, anytime, for no other reason than because you care—things that may cost you little or nothing, but which could mean the world to those on the receiving end. Thoughtful gestures, especially when they are least expected, have a wonderful way of brightening people’s days. They convey, “You are special.”

For example, try extending to others the kind of love and thoughtfulness you show your loved ones, and watch what a difference that can make. Take a personal interest in those you see regularly but don’t really know—the checkout clerk, the waiter, the repairman, the receptionist. Ask about their health, their families, or how their day is going, and then ask for an update the next time your paths cross.

Wishing you all the best,

Coach Dana

(Compliments of http://www.actionvisioncoaching.com/)

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Motivational Minute (12_48)

Quote of the day:

"The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair. The beauty of a woman is seen in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides. True beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul. It's the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that she shows, and the beauty of a woman only grows with passing years." -- Audrey Hepburn

Consider:

The quote above is about women, but both men and women’s inner beauty is seen through the eyes.

People read your eyes even before they hear what you’re saying. The eyes tell it all in that magical moment when your eyes make contact with another’s. When two people’s eyes connect, spirits connect. In that moment of intimacy and vulnerability, each party makes a conscious or unconscious judgment of the other, based on what has been revealed through that initial spiritual exchange.

Eyes can convey understanding, sympathy, approval or disapproval, encouragement or discouragement, support or doubt, challenge or submission, and a thousand other things. A look can blast like a cannon or gently caress. Eyes can penetrate the soul and unearth deepest secrets, or brush others aside as though they didn’t exist.

When others want your opinion, they look in your eyes. When they want to know if you’re telling the truth, they look to see if your eyes are saying the same thing as your lips. Eyes are prime communicators between people of different languages, because they speak the universal language of the human spirit.

What are your eyes revealing?

Wishing you all the best,

Coach Dana

P.S. Just a reminder that you can have the Motivational Minute come to your inbox by signing up for it here http://www.actionvisioncoaching.com/

Motivational Minute (12_47)

Quote of the day:

“Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of someone else.”--Judy Garland

Consider:

Some things never change. For example the question "Who am I?". That search for self is universal.

The thing that has changed in the last generation or two, though, is where people are looking for the answer. For many it's not so much a search to find values and a purpose to base their lives on, as a search for an identity, an image, with a heavy emphasis on individuality.

Never has there been so much importance put on expressing individuality as in today's commerce-and media-driven world. I did a quick search on the Internet and found 153,000 sites telling me how I could express my individuality, and most of them were selling something.

What most people don't seem to realize is that in our quest for individuality, we end up models of conformity—walking advertisements that promote other people's ideas, tastes, creativity, and enterprise.

But stop and think. Are those surface things what make up the real you? Or is it the inner you, your spirit and the values motivating you and guiding your actions that determine the real you? What do you want to be known and remembered for—the image you project, or the positive influence you have on others?

Wishing you all the best,

Coach Dana

(Compliments of http://www.actionvisioncoaching.com/)

Go here and sign up if you would like the Motivational Minutes to come to your inbox.

Motivational Minute (12_46)

(Compliments of http://www.actionvisioncoaching.com/)

Quote of the day:

“I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do!” -- Edward Everett Hale

Consider:

Most people have great respect for Mother Teresa, yet they think they could never be like her; they could never be so saintly or make such a difference in the lives of so many. Maybe not, but the tragedy is that because they don't think they can, they don't even try.

What they fail to realize is that Mother Teresa didn't set out to become a living saint or a Nobel Peace Prize laureate. And she didn't start out ministering to multitudes of the poorest of the poor. She simply saw the need nearest her and responded. We can all do that.

Don’t let what you can’t do interfere with what you can do. Take a moment to think about what you can do to make a difference.

Wishing you all the best,

Coach Dana

P.S. Reminder if you would like to receive the Motivational Minutes to your inbox sign up here.http://www.actionvisioncoaching.com/

Motivational Minute (12_45)

(Compliments of http://www.actionvisioncoaching.com/)

Quote of the day:

“I am more and more convinced that our happiness or our unhappiness depends far more on the way we meet the events of life than on the nature of those events themselves.” -- Karl Wilhelm Von Humboldt

Consider:

There's probably not a person on this planet who is completely satisfied with the way they are. Everyone is either "too fat" or "too skinny," "too short" or "too tall," "too average," "too different," or “too” something. And what about those bad habits, weaknesses, and personality quirks that seem to stand in the way of our happiness, our success, and successful relations with others?

In time, most of us realize that one of the keys to happiness is learning to accept certain things about ourselves that we can't change or that don't really matter, and to major on the things that we can change and that do matter.

Someone wisely summed this up in what has come to be known as the Serenity Prayer: "Lord, give us serenity to accept what cannot be changed, courage to change what should be changed, and wisdom to distinguish the one from the other."

Are there things in your life you need the serenity to accept, the courage to change or the wisdom to know the difference?

If you would like to receive the Motivational Minute to your inbox just sign up here.

Wishing you all the best,

Coach Dana

Motivational Minute (12_44)

Compliments of www.actionvisioncoaching.com

Quote of the day:

"Reflect on your present blessings, of which every man has many; not on your misfortunes, of which all men have some.” — Charles Dickens

Consider:

I came across that gem of wisdom at a rough time in my life. The thing that amazes me now is how easily I could have missed it. I was feeling happy and fulfilled at the time, satisfied with my life and where it seemed to be taking me. I could have brushed those words aside as not applying to me. I was later glad I hadn't.

Things took an unexpected downward turn, and those words became a reference point that helped get me through the next few difficult months.

That little bit of advice helped me realize that while my circumstances had suddenly changed, that didn't change the things that counted most in life. It didn't change who I was or my main goals or values. Therefore it shouldn't rob me of the contentment I'd had before things fell apart.

The happy ending? By focusing on what I still had and not on what I had lost, I made it through that difficult time and came out happier in the end. Try focusing on the good if you find yourself in a rough spot,  it will do the same for you.

Wishing you all the best,

Coach Dana

Motivational Minute (12_43)

Compliments of www.actionvisioncoaching.com

Quote of the day:

“Each problem has hidden in it an opportunity so powerful that it literally dwarfs the problem. The greatest success stories were created by people who recognized a problem and turned it into an opportunity.” -- Joseph Sugarman

Consider:

Whenever I hear someone bemoaning the state of the world, I'm reminded of something I first heard many years ago, "If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem."

It is easy enough to identify the problem as "all the injustice and suffering in the world." That quote, which I later learned was by U.S. civil rights activist Eldridge Cleaver, didn't tell me how I could become part of the solution, but it did reinforce my growing conviction that I couldn't turn a blind eye to the problem.


If you want to be part of the solution just do your best, day by day, in your corner of it and that will make the difference. Will you dare to be part of the solution and find the hidden opportunity?

Wishing you all the best,

Coach Dana

Motivational Minute (12_42)

Compliments of www.actionvisioncoaching.com

Quote of the day:

“How beautiful a day can be when kindness touches it.” -- G. Elliston

Consider:

The smallest good deed is better than the grandest intention. Unfortunately most of us fail too often to express words of love, appreciation,  comfort and encouragement to those around us. However, if one were given five minutes warning before sudden death, five minutes to say our last words, every telephone would be occupied by people trying to call someone who matters in their life to say they love them. If you love someone, tell them so. If you're thankful for something, say so. Maybe at that very moment that person is yearning for some kind word of love and encouragement.

It reminds me of an old story.

A telephone operator known by her callers as "Central" was tired and her head ached. She had just succeeded, after repeated efforts, in finally putting a woman caller through to the number that she had eagerly requested, and now that same woman was calling again.

"Can't that woman be quiet for a minute!" she thought to herself, while she repeated, "Number, please?" trying not to speak crossly.

"Central?" said a pleasant voice. "I want to thank you for going to so much trouble to get me that last number. You are always so kind and obliging and I want you to know that I really do appreciate it." 

The surprise was so great, so overwhelming, that Central could only murmur confusedly, "I, oh, yes Ma'am." 

Nothing like that had ever happened before. Suddenly her headache was better, suddenly the day was brighter, suddenly too, there came a lump in her throat and she reached for her handkerchief. Oh, it felt so good to be thanked!
 A touching story, and so true! Doesn't it feel good when someone encourages you with a few sincere words of love and praise and appreciation? Don’t forget to do it for others.

Wishing you all the best,

Coach Dana

Motivational Minute (12_41)

                                                                                 Photo by Tommy Farnsworth

Quote of the day:

To be content, just think how happy you would be if you lost everything you have right now, and then got it back again! – Author Unknown

Consider:

How often are you thankful for things you take for granted, such as your eye sight?

It reminds me of a story about a group of visitors at a summer resort who had watched the sunset from the gallery of the hotel. An overweight, unromantic-looking man had lingered until the last glow faded, and had seemed thrilled through and through by the beauty of it all.

One guest, more observant than the rest, wondered about this, and so at supper she said to this man, who sat next to her, "You certainly did enjoy that sunset, Mr. B., are you an artist?"

"No, Madam, I'm a plumber," he responded with a slow grin, "but I was blind for five years."

Sometimes when you are feeling jaded or blasé, you can revive your sense of wonder by merely saying to yourself:  Suppose this were the only time. Suppose this sunset, this moonrise, this symphony, this buttered toast, this sleeping child...suppose I would never experience these things again!

Few things are commonplace in themselves. It's our reaction to them that grows dull. Take time to keep the wonder in your life.

Wishing you all the best,

Coach Dana

(Compliments of http://www.actionvisioncoaching.com/)

Important Announcement

Some of you have visited my site called Radical Giving (http://radgiving.weebly.com//). This site lists grass root mission works who are doing note worthy things for their community. Most of these works are small, yet they are having a big impact through their efforts. They are all worthy projects to promote and to support. If you haven’t already done so, I invite you to visit the site soon.

And some GOOD NEWS is that I have started a newsletter to inform my interested readers about new projects listed and give up dates from existing projects. If you would like to stay informed via receiving my newsletter directly in your email, simply go here: http://radgiving.weebly.com/, and sign up for the free newsletter.

Looking forward to hearing from you soon.

Dana Bosley

P.S. You may be taken to the Action Vision Coaching site after signing up for the Radical Giving newsletter, my apologies in advance for that. Just click on the Radical Giving link on that page and it will take you back to the Radical Giving site if you wish to visit there again.

Motivational Minute (12_40)

                                                                             Picture from Wikipedia

Quote of the day:

“A truly charming person never has time for envy, self-pity, or gossip.”--Loretta Young

Consider:

Being charming is much more than being a smooth talker or having bedroom eyes. It goes beyond having manners, good looks, or dressing nice. True charm is something deeper that goes beyond appearance.

Charm is the ability to create extraordinary rapport that makes others feel exceptional, it exudes warmth and genuine interest in others, while at the same time not being concerned with whether you are liked or not.

Charm is an attribute well worth acquiring. Some of the first steps toward this goal would be removing envy, self-pity and gossip from your life.

Wishing you all the best,

Coach Dana

(Compliments of http://www.actionvisioncoaching.com/)