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This is the fourth of 10 strategies for personal
and professional success that I'll be featuring during
the first two full weeks of 2009. I'm running this
special series to share what I consider to be some of
the best ways for you to make sure that 2009 is a
great year, regardless of what does or does not
happen in the rest of the world. I encourage you to
create a separate folder to file these ten special
Spark Plugs so that you can read them again
later, and/or share them with others who might benefit
from reading them. -- Joe
| Be Today, See Tomorrow |
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Be Today, See Tomorrow. This is one of the
ultimate paradoxes of life. The secret to happiness is
to keep your attention is the present, but the key to
success is keeping your vision in the future.
Be Today. Any time you are feeling emotional
pain, chances are that you're engaged in a form of
psychic time travel: guilt, anger, regret - those
emotions are painful detritus from the past, the dead
weight of which is dragging you down and holding you
back; fear, anxiety, worry - those emotions are ghosts
of the future that you have chosen to live with as
though they were your reality of today. The foundation
of emotional equanimity and spiritual peace is to live
in the present, to be where you are and when you are,
not in some distant state or time zone.
The present living habit of Be Today is what Buddhists
have in mind when they refer to "the miracle of
mindfulness." Being today is appreciating the
blooming of spring, the snow flakes of winter. It is
forgiving those who might have hurt you in the past,
and expecting the best from those with whom you will
deal in the future. It is opening your eyes to the
opportunities for service, achievement, and
advancement that are all around you at all times if you
are paying attention. Be Today. Mindfulness truly is a
miracle.
See Tomorrow. Jonathan Swift once wrote
that vision is the art of seeing the invisible. If you can
dream it, said Walt Disney, you can do it.
Unfortunately, many of us have allowed that power of
dreaming, the capacity of seeing the invisible, to
atrophy.
Yet every great accomplishment was once an
impossible dream. Walt Disney constructed
Disneyland in his head, and then on paper, long
before the first spade of dirt was turned. For many a
recovering alcoholic, the vital turning point was finally
being able to "see" a sober tomorrow. The Book of
Proverbs tells us that without vision, people perish.
With vision, though, all things are possible.
If you've ever attended one of my seminars, you've
heard me speak about creating what I call "memories
of the future." Walt Disney didn't just dream up
Disneyland, he remembered it into existence; the
vision was so powerful in his mind that its reification
on the earth was simply a matter of time and effort.
Be Today, See Tomorrow. One the secret of
happiness, the other the key to success. Keep your
attention in the present - but not just any present;
consciously choose to pay attention to those things
that are beautiful and nurturing. Keep your vision in
the future - but not just the future as an extrapolation
of the past; consciously visualize a future in which your
most magnificent dreams become reality, in which
you become the person you are truly capable of
being. After all, if you can dream it, you can do it.
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| Something to think about |
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"You connect with your highest goal when you
awaken full of enthusiasm for the day and when you
know you are making a contribution. It is synonymous
with being in the flow, periods in which you are so
totally absorbed with what you are doing that time
stops and fulfillment comes naturally. It is making
your life itself a work of art. It is working at something
that you're getting paid to do that you would secretly be
willing to pay someone to be able to do."
-- Michael Ray: The Highest Goal: The Secret that
Sustains You in Every Moment
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| Join, Renew, or Extend Your Spark Plug PLUS Membership |
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Spark Plug Plus is the Values Coach group
coaching service, and a growing worldwide
community of people who are committed to living their
values. We support our members with a combination
of regular e-mails, teleconferences, a members-only
resource website, workbooks (like the attractively
bound 420-page workbook on The Twelve Core
Action Values pictured to the left, a free bonus to
new, renewing and extending members), special
reports and other resources to help them achieve their
personal and professional goals.
If you have not already taken advantage of the special
offer to join Spark Plug Plus, or to renew or extend
your membership, I encourage you to do this.
With this special offer, dues are only $48 for 18
months (that's just 67 cents per week!), which makes
this a great investment in yourself, your career, your
family and your future.
You can sign up at
our secure online store using the link below, or send
me an e-mail (joe@joetye.com)
with your postal address and we'll send you an
invoice. Either way, we will automatically add 18
months to your membership and mail your two free
bonus items: the workbook on The Twelve Core
Action Values and the Values Coach Digital
Library.
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| The Mission of Values Coach Inc. |
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Values Coach provides consulting, training, and
coaching on values-based life and leadership skills
for hospitals, corporations, and associations. We
work very intensively with a relatively small number of
clients. Our mission is helping people transform their
lives by living The Twelve Core Action Values,
and helping organizations move from a culture of
accountability toward a culture of ownership.
Members of the Values Coach speakers bureau are
available for conferences and events. For
information or to schedule a program, please call:
800-644-3889
(International: 319-624-3889)
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