We owe a lot to Stuart Smalley, the earnest albeit misguided alter ego of satirist Al Franken from "Saturday Night Live." Smalley, who "was not a licensed therapist but was a member of several 12-step programs" introduced many of us to the concept of affirmations. And, then, he made it seem foolish.

Over the years, when I speak about the power of affirmations, people sometimes reference Stuart Smalley and immediately discount this wise practice. Is that how you feel? I hope this email I received the other day, shared with permission from the sender, changes your mind.

"Your talk really spoke to me and I left committed to apply at least a couple of your suggested techniques. I've never really used affirmations in my spiritual practice. I think SNL's Stuart Smalley had ruined for me what I am now discovering to be a very powerful technique. 

"My new boss recently restructured my business unit and I got a promotion. I was intimidated by my new role and this created significant anxiety that put me way off center and, frankly, I was not performing very well. I started feeling like a 'victim' and my fight-or-flight reflexes were kicking in. Then, very timely, I heard your 'CRAVE Your Goals' message. 

"This past week I traveled to Chicago to meet with my boss and many of the people that will now be reporting to me. I was nervous, to say the least.  Following your advice, I created four affirmations that I decided I would try out since I was struggling to release the anxiety by other means. The affirmations are:

1. I Love this job!  (Your "I love to speak" affirmation inspired this for me...I've since realized it's the MOST important one!)
2. I am an Inspiring and Creative Leader.
3. I know the Right & Perfect solution to Every challenge I face.
4. I have complete Confidence & Trust in my Ideas and Intelligence.

"I started saying these to myself, in that order, every morning. Honestly, I was surprised when on Day One I felt a strange centeredness upon mentally affirming these things.  So I started to say them to myself at any point in the day when I felt anxiety or negativity and they consistently offered relief.  By mid-week the affirmations were not only stress relievers, they became very empowering. As I write this now, I truly recognize the creative power of 'literally' affirming success.  In just a week, these four simple statements have shined the light away from the fear I was experiencing and onto competencies and creative joy that I can now see were being shadowed.            

"This is actually the first I've shared this with anyone.  Sometimes when sharing things like this (especially before I've allowed sufficient time to create a habit) they lose their power for me. I don't have that concern in this case as I am so happy to express my appreciation for you and what you've help me discover. I intend to continue this practice at work, as well as to develop new affirmations for other aspects of my life, ultimately creating a habitual thought process aligned with my affirmed success in all areas!" 

What are you telling yourself? Do you have an affirmation that supports your success? Please take a moment to share your wisdom by posting it on my Facebook Page. As an added incentive, I will select one person at random to receive downloadable, electronic copies of both my "Divine Wisdom at Work" book and audio book. The deadline is Friday by 5 pm (ET). I love hearing from you!