Inspiraelevation

Living a life of gratitude is essential. It is a well known fact that like attracts like.

Remember the  adage, birds of a feather flock together

The same ideology applies here. 

We attract what we put out, our creative potential is like magnets. 

An attitude of gratitude displays an abundance mindset.  When you express gratitude you are saying that what you have is plenty, you cherish it, and it serves you well. Therefore there is no lack!

This type of thinking creates within you a spirit of contentment. It opens you up to receive more of the same. 

Think of it this way, if you feel you live in lack,  then you will act as if you never have enough. Thus your behaviors will not be sufficient to drive you to accumulate more than what you currently have. 

You will have created within yourself a self-fulfilling prophecy. Your cyclic behavior will lend you to draw to yourself more of the same

Remember as a man thinketh, so he is.

If you think you operate in abundance you will act in accordance. 

You will engage in behaviors that sustain as well as create more of what you possess, or claim to possess. 

Thus, you will create opportunities for you to receive more. 

I implore you to develop your spirit of gratitude. Develop an abundance mindset. Let your change in thinking move you to greater opportunities and possibilities, possibilities you never would have thought imaginable.

Wayne Dyer once stated, “ You create your thoughts, your thoughts create your intentions, and your intentions create your reality!”

Most people never get off the ground because they are waiting for the perfect time.

They are waiting for all the funds to be in place.

They are waiting for permission.

 They are waiting for peer approval and agreement.

The sad thing is, there will never be a perfect moment.

We live in an imperfect world.

 We are imperfect people.

Opportunity does not wait for anyone.  You have to step out.  You have to exercise  faith. You have to believe in yourself and in your dream enough to just do it.

You have to do it afraid.

Just as I am doing this right now.

I do not have many followers.  I do not have this huge pool of endless resources.

My support circle is small, tight, and strong but very small.

However, I am doing it anyway.

I believe that the rest will come if I just faithfully keep going.

The law of averages says that if I take the step, and keep on taking steps, eventually I will achieve what I set out to do.

However, if I do not act I will never get beyond the dream.

 So here I am, taking the leap.

I know you can too.

If no one else believes in you, I do.

I know with the right mindset, and a little bit of faith, anything is possible.

Moreover, if I can do it you can.

A lot of success hinges on a change in attitude, behavior, and thinking.

John Maynard Keynes, father and influencer of economic theory is quoted as once saying, “the difficulty lies not so much in developing new ideas as in escaping from old ones.”

Do not wait until it is too late

If I believe in you, others do too.

In fact, they are waiting in rooms that you have not even entered yet.

You were made for this moment to arrive.

Believe

And, do it even if you are afraid

You have to get a seat in the room!

There are so many resources for development and improvement out there.  The world is rich with opportunities that there simply are no excuses.

No matter where you turn, there are people willing to share their wealth of knowledge, and the breadth of their experience with you.  It is all yours for the taking.  All you must do is begin seeking.

 Look for the opportunities. 

Make a way for yourself!

Remember that you create your own success.  Therefore, you have to put yourself in a position to succeed. 

You have to get in the room where those whom already made it where you are trying to go going gather.

Claim your seat!

 Mentorship and modeling are powerful tools.

Yesterday, I sat in the room with some of the 1%, people who had arrived at where I wanted to be. I sat there and listened to the gems they had to offer.  I left that room feeling so full, energized, and motivated. I felt that I was attracting abundance by simply occupying the space with others who had developed an abundance mindset.

 I was in the room!

 I was in attendance and I was attentive, and my life was enriched, and that is the way it should be you should seek out people who will level you up.

 If your circle is not enriching your life, find another circle or redraw your sphere of influence

I urge you, if you want to take your dream to the next level seek to get a seat at the table, if you cannot sit, stand in the doorframe, but do what you can to get in the room.

In my morning reading, I came across the awe inspiring quote, from the acclaimed book How Successful People Think,  Maxwell pens, “Look for people with the attitude of Robert F. Kennedy, who popularized George Bernard Shaw’s stirring statement, “Some men see things as they are and say, Why?’I dream of things that never were and say, ‘Why not?””

This is the type of mindset you want to develop, possibility thinking.  However, you must get in the room with people who have that mindset, because its infectious and you will never regret whatever opportunity you took to get there.

Be careful that you do not neglect your dream. 

A break is sometimes warranted.
There will be times when you need to take a reprieve so that you come back with vigor equal to that where with you started.

 Obstacles slow momentum.

Simply living an impassioned existence or caring for something can drain your energy.

Unfortunately, you will not always be motivated to keep moving.

 You have to refuel your tank, to light the spark, that reignites the passion. 

Be forewarned that, stopping for a little while does not mean quitting altogether.  Stopping to rest does not give you permission to walk away from what you began. 

You must push yourself to get back on the road. No one else will don it for you.

Never let your rest become neglect.

I had a dream not too long ago. In that dream, I had a gorgeous baby.  I guess at some point I needed a break from the demands of nurturing that beautiful soul.  So, for what I thought was a small period of time, I left her in the care of another. But, more time had passed than I had intended.  For I felt within me the tug to return.  However, when I had returned, my baby was not as I had left her.

 Now, she was malnourished. Her frame was gaunt.  I knew when I saw her she was in desperate need of care and nourishment.  Her beauty, however, had not changed , nor had my feelings for her. 
She was still exquisitely beautiful.  She was still mine.

 She loved me, and I loved her, more than ever.  Thus, marked the period of restoration and recovery. But, due to the time I had spent away, I understood that restoration would take a bit more time, and she would require a bit more care. 

I found this dream to be incredibly symbolic. 

A baby is very much akin to a dream.  Just as a baby, your dream is something you birth. A dream too needs to be tended to and nourished to grow. 
When you neglect something you birth it begins to waste away. 

And sadly, the longer you neglect the appropriate care and nourishment, the thinner it becomes until eventually there is nothing left.

 Remember, It is okay, to step away and refresh yourself. However, it is never okay to neglect what you have birthed.Your dreams are precious and require an investment of effort and love.  

So, If you have stepped away or stopped working for a while, refuel, and then, go back!

You will be glad you did.

Nothing is more soul crushing than dreams deferred.

As Langston Hughes so aptly questions in his poem Harlem

What happens to a dream deferred?

      Does it dry up
      like a raisin in the sun?
      Or fester like a sore—
      And then run?
      Does it stink like rotten meat?
      Or crust and sugar over—
      like a syrupy sweet?

      Maybe it just sags
      like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

You have it in you to see your dream blossom into its fullness.

The question is, what do you believe ?

George Carlin once wrote,“let a smile be your umbrella.”

Smokey Robinson once wrote what can be regarded as an apt response, but “…if you take a good look at my face, you’ll see my smile looks out of place. If you’ll look a little bit closer it’s easy to trace the tracks of my tears.”

In masking, there is a pretense. 

 Another writer once said, that he was “ Masquerading  as a man with a reason, and his charade is the event of the season. 

Like any strong person he was told to Soldier on, “Carry on my wayward son that he would find his peace when he was done .”

And, soldier on you must.

But there is a time and season for everything.

Entire life should not be lived as a charade but in earnest and honest.

Perspective says that sometimes it’s okay to feel and emote.

 Vulnerability can be a strength.

 It is in those moments, if we but accept and allow, we learn the greatest lessons, such as how to become an advocate for others.

I know, that just as I,  there will always be someone who will need a soft place to land, whether it be in arms, words, or as Sara Bareiles croons,” a dream.”

Every creature needs a safe place, a shield from the sharp steel toe of the enemy.

 A buffer from the beleaguered attacks. 

So I want to encourage you to never be afraid to live out your season, live openly, and learn freely. 

Don’t besmirch the moments when you feel the most vulnerable, tired, sad,  or alone but own those moments and use it as an opportunity to build and to grow.

For one day you may be the student or the one in need.  It’s not a step downward or backwards. It is rather preparation for times when  you must step up to become the teacher, or the safe place for someone else who’s been where you have been.