Motivation Spirit

by Anja Merret

Here’s a story for you. A newspaper I was reading talked about a Reverend Billy in the United States, who although no ordained minister, was out with his church choir every day, preaching against consumerism. He is the founder of the Church of Stop Shopping. He marches into a shop and lays his hands on a cash register to exorcise the demon out of the machine. And his choir, acting like a Greek chorus, sings anti shopping hymns. In another example, the Church of Scientology is spreading its wings and opening up centres world wide. That religion is based on some writings of a science fiction author. Can it get any weirder one thinks.
Yet at the same time, the statistics of church goers to the more traditional churches in the western countries show a huge decline in attendance. The catholics, protestants, methodist and anglicans and others too numerous to mention, are not going to church anymore. And the evangelists are pulling them in by the thousands, are producing enough videos and films to keep TV channels humming and having the punch to populate radio stations. Let’s see what they will get up to on the internet coming soon to a computer near you.
What is it that the hoopla of the evangelical movements can deliver to people that the traditional churches are missing out of. Is it the entertainment value to the sessions perhaps? Is it the fact that there are strong youth movements, the children are looked after, while the parents are also catered for, with other words it is a family outing? Is the preacher more enthusiastic than the ones found in the traditional churches? Possibly these are all factors, but I don’t think they really put the finger on the problem. For me the reason why the evangelical movements are so powerful is because they preach a belief system that ensures that the followers, are true followers. You are told what to believe, and no analysis or thought is required or encouraged. Talking in tongues is pretty much an indication of the brain having shut down.
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by Tammy Embrich

Motivation is just about the most important element for success in any work at home business. If you don’t posses this key element with your business or your websites, then it’s very unlikely that you will succeed.
Granted, it is difficult to stay motivated at all times…and we all go through low valleys with our home businesses. But it’s through these valleys that we grow and learn from our mistakes.
How do you stay motivated and focused?
There are a number of things that you can do to accomplish this…
Marketing Ideas:
When promoting your business or website, always try and conjure up fresh marketing techniques/methods. If something hasn’t been working for you, then move onto something new. The ideas are literally endless with marketing. And the most important thing…there are tons of free promotion out there for the taking. Remember, you don’t have to pay for advertising in order for it to be effective. It could be…networking on message forums, exchanging links with other business owners/webmasters, article marketing, getting listed in directories, ezine ads, signature advertising, and others. But, that’s a whole other article topic there. The idea is to always strive for fresh marketing ideas. Now, we can’t neglect the tried and true "word of mouth." Quite effective, give it a try!
Purchase New Products For Your Business:
Now, we all know that in order for you to be a success with your business, you have to know your products and have a passion for them. You have to love the products you are selling! The better you know your products and love them, the more likely it will be that you will keep getting the sales. What better reason to purchase some of your favorite, featured, new products that are in stock? Show them off! If it’s makeup, jewelry, or what have you…take them with you wherever you go. Show the new products off to your friends and family. Be enthusiastic about your products!
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by Hans Bool

The expedition to setup up a vision is needed to motivate your organization. “I have a dream,” is often taken as an example when discussing the importance of a (business) vision.
A vision should motivate.
And you need to walk your talk.
The first step is the most difficult. Not for those who are easily motivated by dreams, pictures and other “harmless” material.
But how would you motivate someone who doesn’t “see” the first step. It is this first step that could define the direction of the next ones.
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by Honman Chan

When we are doing something we like, we hardly feel tired. Many people feel this way. For example, if you go fishing for a day, sitting by the lake for 10 hours, you won’t feel tired at all. Why? That’s because fishing is your interest. You draw pleasure and joy from fishing. The main reason for people getting tired is due to them getting tired of life, getting wearied of a particular job. Such emotional tiredness can be more energy-draining than the physical strength consumed.
Psychologists ever did this experiment. They put 18 students into 2 groups of 9 students. They made one group worked in jobs that matched their areas of interest whereas the other group worked in jobs that were not their areas of interest. Not long after, the group that was working in jobs that were not their areas of interest started to make gestures. A while later, some started complaining about headaches and backaches. On the other hand, the other group of students was still full at energy at work.
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by Jim Kelley

Winners get things done. And winners know how to get more done in less time. Winners know that to be more productive, you begin by thinking more productively. When you accomplish more on the inside, you get more done on the outside. Because you are a winner, you take pride in both the quality and the quantity of your achievements. You accomplish more and produce more in everything you do.
Does this describe you? If not, then it is time for you to make a change. It has been said, "If you keep on doing what you are doing, you will keep on getting what you are getting." Are you satisfied with what you are getting? If you are not, then you must change. One is never to young or too old to change. Even the mighty and magnificent eagle recognizes that change must happen in order to continue being a winner. Here is the story of the eagle’s transformation.
The story of the eagle…
And WHY CHANGE IS SO NECESSARY
The eagle has the longest life-span of its’ species.
It can live up to 70 years But to reach this age, the eagle must make a hard decision.
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by Honman Chan

A man fell off from a cliff after being chased by a tiger. Fortunately, in the midst of falling down, he caught hold of a bunch of buttress roots hanging down from somewhere on the cliff edge. He looked up and saw that tiger still at the cliff top, staring at him. When he looked down to the bottom, he saw another tiger waiting to devour him should he fell. Before he could begin to think of what to do next, he saw the worse! Two rats, coming from nowhere, were nibbling at their fastest speed the remaining roots of the buttress that were supporting him in the air. The man felt despaired. ‘I am doomed!’ he thought to himself. Just then, he suddenly caught sight of some wild berries growing nearby within his reach. He plucked some of the berries, stuffed in his mouth and chewed on them as he said to himself, ‘How sweet!’
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by Hal Manogue

"Act without doing; work without effort. Think of the small as large and the few as many. Confront the difficult while it is still easy; accomplish the great task by a series of small acts. The Master never reaches for great; thus she achieves greatness. When she runs into difficulty, she stops and gives herself to it. She doesn’t cling to her own comfort; thus problems are not problems for her." Lao-tzu, the Chinese recluse, wrote those words over 2500 years ago. It’s interesting that I somehow thought, the ancient people, were so far behind our modern day thoughts. Now I realize it’s the other way around. The more I remember, the more I understand that we have left the door to knowing locked, by distorted truths and beliefs. Our minds have been placed in a box of fear, and the lid is covered with misconceptions.
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by Carolyn McFann

Sometimes it seems that when you are doing well, people you care about the most may not be as enthusiastic about it as you are. It can be frustrating, to say the least. Don’t let those, who put down your good luck or accomplishments, get you down. Instead, use their lack of interest or support as motivation to do even better things. Remember, you don’t need anyone’s approval, just your own. Don’t let others’ negative or indifferent attitudes affect your desire to grow and prosper.
When I left my ex, money was really tight. I researched apartments as I packed to leave, and found some that were really nice. Unfortunately, not having a current rental history (we lived in his place) made the landlord of one particularly nice unit deny my application. It was devastating. It was a cottage, with solitude and had charm and character. So, the neighborhood was less than wonderful, it had its own private garden to access through locked gates. To me, it was perfect, despite older appliances. Frustrated, I looked even harder at apartments, renting a suite in a hotel until the right place was found. To my surprise, after seeing ten different places, I found a really lovely one. It was much more elegant than the little cottage, and in a top neighborhood, near the ocean. Situated on a lake, nature was all around. This quiet place; complete with big windows, more square footage and new appliances, was absolutely perfect. And, they accepted me! It cost a little more than the other place, but that was not a problem. By going beyond what was originally planned, my situation improved more than was ever expected.
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by Dwayne Gilbert

When life throws me lemons, I sit back and drink lemonade…..while throwing artillery rounds back at life. Sometimes life can get overwhelming. Sometimes, it seems as though we aren’t making any progress at all. Sometimes, life can just throw so much crap at us that we have no idea which direction to go or what to do next. When you are on the path of personal development or personal growth, there will always be times when where you are heading seems so far away. You need to remember to reflect back on where you have been, and how far you have traveled.
No one has ever accomplished anything without sacrifice. There are parts of yourself you will have to give up in order to get what you want and to get to where you want to go. There are parts of your life that you will have to leave behind in order to accomplish what you want to accomplish. There are times when it will seem as though you have a mountain to climb, and the other side to go down before you get to where you want to be. Sacrifice is about giving one thing up for another. Being willing to let go of this, in order for that to happen. You must be willing to give things up right now in order to get to where you want to be tomorrow.
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by Craig Harper

I do lots of writing, not just for my blog but also for books, magazines and preparing for my seminars and workshops. The truth is sometimes it’s hard to be creative, inspirational, insightful and original. There’s so much amazing information, inspiration and education flying around in all sorts of forms that occasionally, it’s a real challenge to write something that I’m genuinely happy with… especially when I’m on a dead-line. For my magazine articles I have mandatory deadlines; when the work absolutely has to be emailed to my editors. And for my blog, I have self-imposed dead-lines.
Because my life is crazy (fun but crazy), I usually don’t start writing my blog until about 10pm. That’s after the phones have (nearly) stopped, the doors on my business have closed, dinner’s been had and I’ve done some reading. Sometimes I sit down at my computer and the only thing floating around my tired little brain is a request from my body for sleep. Deadlines can stifle that creative flow. Tiredness can too. And so can stress.
Today is not such a day. Today I had an appointment with one of the most inspirational people I’ve ever met. And I’ve met plenty. Today inspiration walked through my door and I instantly knew what I would write about tonight.
Before Christmas I received a phone call from a woman who saw me on 9AM (a TV show I do some stuff on). She explained to me that she has significant health issues (the understatement of the century) and that nobody was prepared to help her with an exercise program because she was too high-risk.
She sounded interesting and we made a time (today) when we would meet.
In a thousand words (or less) I can’t do justice to Lee’s story but in brief, I have never met a person who has gone through so much emotional, psychological and physical pain for such an extended period of time and who has come out the other side with an attitude which is almost impossible to comprehend.
Her life and her life-experiences are so dramatic, so extreme and so profound that I sat listening to her with tears in my eyes (and we all know what an Alpha-Male I am!). I have encouraged her to write a book to share her story. Apart from the fact that she has had six different types of cancer and been told numerous times she has three months to live, she has also had chronic back pain for years, had one of her children die and has experienced more abuse and personal trauma through a range of almost unbelievable situations and circumstances than ten people should ever have to endure in a lifetime.
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