Have What You Have: A Surprise Key to Success

Do you think more about and appreciate what you have OR do you think and worry more about what you don't have? Your sense of having or not having greatly impacts your success. Looking at the truth of who you are is important to understanding how this works.

Science has now caught up with a core message of many spiritual paths - You are one with that which created you. This means that you are both Spirit and human, or Spirit enjoying a human experience.

As Spirit you have within you everything you could ever want or need to be extraordinarily successful in every way - in relationships, health, happiness, business and finances.

It's Universal Law

When you are unaware that you already have everything you need or desire, the tendency is to think that you have to get what you don't think you have from outside yourself. The motive of "getting" is not aligned with true wealth and success. It goes against universal law.

From a relationship perspective, the energy of getting feels like pressure to others. They know on some level that you want something from them and will resist your efforts.

With a sense of "having" you become a giver and the universe rushes in to give you many times over what you have given. It's a universal principle that you always get back what you give, and more.

It is also a universal principle that the abundance of the universe is in continuous flow. When you give, you open up the flow of your good. When you come from "not having", you block it.

Three Core "Haves" for Success

You have wealth beyond measure within you. Three core treasures that come into this life with you are love, desire and value.

Love is a spiritual gift. It's part of your Spiritual DNA package.

When you realize that you have love, giving love is your natural response. Your way of being and your actions are all based in love. You open up the flow of your good and you naturally attract more love into your life.

Desire is the life within you seeking new expression. Your desires guide you to that which makes you feel fully alive and serves the highest good.

Value. When you realize that you have value, you trust and move with your desires.

You know that what you have to offer others is valuable. You give of yourself and create rich relationships. And you tap into your natural creativity for new ways to contribute value for others.

In the Flow of Wealth and Success

As you remember that you are one with that which created you, it follows that an abundance of all that is good and the seeds of all that you desire lie within you. You become one of the "haves," you tap into the generosity of spirit that is your true nature and you become a giver.

From a sense of having and the spirit of giving your joy grows, your fears and doubts cease and you find yourself in the flow of wealth and success.

Step into Your Greatness! You have everything you need.

Reggie Odom LICSW, CPCC, PCC, founder of Inspired Works, is a Professional Coach, Intuitive Consultant, Spiritual teacher, speaker and writer. She is also on the faculty of the National Institute of Whole Health where she teaches a coaching series. She can be contacted at(617)524-6153, reggie@reggieodom.com or you can visit her web site at http://www.reggieodom.com.

Living a Life That Matters Doesn't Happen By Accident!

My name is Abi Motala and I want to tell you why I am writing this article. I am battle-scarred from dealing with the trials and tribulations of living through an extremely challenging period of my life, during which I was besieged by personal traumas involving career setback, business failure, stress-related health problems, tax investigations, the premature death of four siblings and the early demise of key business associates. Living was awful.

I was driven so close to the edge of the abyss that, at one point, suicide seemed a very attractive option. To this day, I am in awe of the mysterious, inner force that stopped me from giving up on my loved ones, and taking the cowardly way out.

This inner force has, since that fateful day, been guiding me to a contented life full of richness and appreciation.

You see, prior to my period of excruciating pain and anguish, I had been blessed with good fortune but, I had taken everything in my privileged life for granted. I was not happy. I was acquiring wealth but, not richness. Certainly, there was no richness in me either in spirit, or in the quality of my life.

I was like the man who knew the price of everything and the value of nothing. I had a caring wife, three wonderful daughters, a beautiful home and yet as a business-obsessed workaholic there was no self-appreciation of anything in my life. I wanted more, and demanded more from my nearest and dearest. I was invincible. I was immortal, and I was prepared to pay any price to be successful.

My period of torment has taught me that we may not have control over what happens to us in every season or cycle of our life, but we most certainly have a choice as to how we deal with everything that happens to us.

Having experienced both the highs of success and the lows of failure, I have finally realised that living a life that matters is not down to circumstance but one of choice.

Ready or not, someday it will all come to an end.

There will be no more sunrises, no minutes, hours or days. All the things I have collected, whether treasured or forgotten, will pass to someone else.

One's wealth, fame and temporal power will shrivel to irrelevance.

It will not matter what you owned, or what you were owed. Your grudging resentments, frustrations and jealousies will finally disappear. So too, your hopes, ambitions, plans, and to-do lists will expire. The wins and losses that once seemed so important will fade away.

It won't matter whether you were a good golfer, successful investor, a beautiful person or simply a brilliant individual. It won't matter where you came from, or on what side of the tracks you lived. Even your gender and skin colour will be irrelevant.

So, what will matter? How will the value of your days to be measured?

What will matter is not what you bought, but what you built; not what you got, but what you gave.

What will matter is not your success, but your significance.

What will matter is not your competence but your character.

What will matter is not what you learned, but what you taught.

What will matter is every act of integrity, compassion, courage or sacrifice that enriched, empowered or encouraged others to emulate your example.

What will matter is not how many people you know, but how many will feel a lasting loss when you're gone.

What will matter is not your memories, but the memories that live in those who loved you.

What will matter is how long you will be remembered, by whom and for what.

I have created a website to help me share with you the success Principles and Strategies for Fulfilment, Health and Wealth. I do sincerely hope that you will drop by and make my day.

"Success is the reward at the end of the path taken by the person of perseverance." Abi Motala

Abi has extensive business management experience at senior levels within large companies, both in the UK and Western Europe.

Having spent 30 years in business, he has personally enjoyed many triumphs as well as endured many traumas. During his business life he has built a significant network of high achievers in many fields, and has witnessed the impact of both success and failure on his business associates and friends.

http://www.abimotala.com

Pretzels

My kids love pretzels. The packages of pre-made soft pretzels I've seen at the store are too expensive and don't even taste that great. After testing a few that I found online, I discovered things I liked and didn't like and made my own recipe.

Many of the recipes I found said to dip the pretzel dough into a solution of baking soda and water. The only purpose this serves is to make the pretzels nice and golden brown and shiny. I didn't appreciate the baking soda after-taste, so I decided to just use an egg wash combined with a bit of milk. Much better.

This is a super fun recipe to have the kids help with. We make these all the time now! I mostly make them for lunch, topping mine with butter, garlic salt and Parmesan. I've even made them for breakfast, topping them with cinnamon and sugar!

Ingredients:
2 packages active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water
4 1/2 cups flour
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk

Dissolve yeast in water. Sift flour into a bowl, then add yeast mixture to flour. Mix well and allow to rise for about 15 minutes. Shape dough into desired shapes and place on a baking sheet.
Beat egg and milk together. Brush over pretzels. Sprinkle with salt, if desired. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

Dump Cake

Perhaps you read the name and you think... "what on earth is DUMP cake". Hee hee. Well, I'll tell you. It's yummy, versatile, and soooo easy. It's very similar to the cobbler cake I posted a while ago. So I hope you'll enjoy it.

Dump Cake

1 can pie filling (any flavor - blueberry is my favorite)
1 large can crushed pineapple (un-drained)
1 cake mix (whatever you think will compliment your filling choice - yellow is my favorite)
1 square butter/ margarine

Step 1: Dump (hence the name of the cake) the pie filling into a greased 13x9 pan



Step 2: Dump pineapple over pie filling


Step 3: Sprinkle cake mix over fruit and smooth it out


Step 4: Cut margarine into thin slices and place on top of cake mix


Step 5: Bake at 325 for about an hour or until golden brown


Step 6: Devour it!

How To Be Inspired Whenever You Want

We have all had some experience of being inspired. It may recent or in the dim and distant past but we know what it's like to feel fully alive. We've been supercharged with energy and we've heard ourselves speak with passion.

It's a great feeling - we get loads of energy. We gain 'fresh eyes' so we can 'see' what is truly important, what really matters. That gives us laser-like focus.

The future becomes one of exciting possibilities. We discover the freedom to make real choices. We realise that we have the power to overcome the barriers and limitations that have been holding us back.

Inspiration is the essential spark in a chain reaction. It sparks off strong self-motivation and leads on to action towards valued goals. From the office to the Olympics - inspiration means we achieve more. Achievement itself can fuel further inspiration which leads to continued motivation and action so that a virtuous circle is created.

Without inspiration, there is no catalyst so motivation is shaky, energy is low and action is hard. When we're not inspired, things can be a struggle.

So what's the secret? How do we get inspired?

It may appear that inspiration comes from 'out there' - perhaps a beautiful sunset, a piece of music or the touch of someone special. In fact this is a kind of shorthand for what is happening.

If we take it literally that the sunset inspires us, we are making the case that the sunset is the cause of the inspiration. Yet this can't be true otherwise everyone who saw it would be inspired.

What is actually occurring is that we inspire ourselves as we use the sunset to trigger our own feelings and thoughts which do the inspiring. The inspiration comes from within. The locus of control is ours.

Exactly how we inspire ourselves is an individual thing - different people do it in different ways. The great news is that we can learn how to inspire ourselves and then we can be inspired whenever we want.

Here are 5 steps to get the ball rolling:

1. Notice any experience which triggers your inspiration. Aim to repeat this experience more often.

2. Wake up your senses. Each day this week concentrate on one of your five senses - Monday 'seeing', Tuesday 'hearing', Wednesday 'touching' and so on. What do you notice that is new?

3. Search for the worthwhile meaning in what you do.

4. Throw out old uninspiring habits and create new inspiring ones.

5. Look out for what stops you being inspired. What could you do differently to avoid this?

Each of us can learn how we can be the source of our own inspiration. Instead of waiting for a random event to trigger your inspiration, you can become inspired when you choose. The skills you acquire to do this can be yours for life.

Trevor Hill works with groups and individuals who want to reinvigorate their working lives. He believes that as we spend a major part of our lives at work, we should aim to get the most from it. As a qualified coach, he created 'Inspiration at Work' in 2004 to help people create more energy, focus and satisfaction in their professional life. Trevor publishes free inspiration tips every fortnight ' simply sign up at http://www.inspiration-at-work.co.uk

Hugh Lane Gallery 14th Sept. '08

Really enjoyed today's sketching session, only got two done but like them both. Hadn't done any "people" sketches previously, so it was really nice to see them turn out ok! Found it hard to get proportions right, will definitely be doing more and hope to start attending the Trinity Drawing lessons too when they start up again.


Have included pictures of the originals for reference, quality isn't great as taken on my phone.