Life Inspiration: 12 Tips for Successful Living

1. Constant affirmation without accountability is a sure-fire way to cripple a child. In other words, belief in yourself without responsibility leads to a sense of entitlement.

2. Raise your hand if you've ever been rejected for anything, anytime, anywhere. We all have. How would you like to have a nice little four-letter word for the next time you're rejected? It's: NEXT. Next sale, next job, next date, next whatever.

3. Beware of people who use their own emotional pain as a tool to manipulate others instead of as a motivation to change themselves.

4. Parents of teens need to watch out for NMK Syndrome: Not My Kid, as in "my kid couldn't have done ___" (fill in the blank). Well, yes, they could have. Even if you have faithfully raised them not to do certain things, kids still have the power of choice, which means they can make bad choices.

NMK Syndrome can blind you to something that needs immediate attention. Trust in your kids and in your parenting, and always check out what you hear.

5. When you receive a notice in your credit card statement that says, "Congratulations, because of your excellent payment history, there is no minimum fee due this month," it's not a time for celebration. You're still being charged interest. These people are not your friends.

6. It's a humbling and sobering experience to have a child who wants to be like you.

7. I've noticed more and more people doing what I call "caboose living."

Picture a three-car train. The engine in front we'll call facts/reality; the car in the middle is our thoughts, beliefs, decisions, choices and behaviors based on the facts; the caboose is our feelings. The facts/reality come first, then thoughts and behaviors followed by feelings.

Many folks try to run their life train with the caboose (feelings) in the lead. Feelings are interesting and important, but they cannot drive the train. Pay attention to your feelings, but let the facts/reality drive the train.

8. A successful marriage requires selective and strategic ignoring. The right things to ignore are little habits and irritating peculiarities that we all have. The problem comes when you select the wrong things to ignore.

9. I wonder if it's a bad thing to believe that football on TV is one of the first signs of fall approaching.

10. Most folks live with the illusion that worrying about something can actually make a difference. The only possible way that worrying can make a difference is if the worrying motivates you to take action to do something about the subject of your worry.

11.People often say, "Well, I'm just going with the flow." The problem with going with the flow is that many times the flow is lost and does not know where it is going.

12. Best quote I've seen since last time, by Miami Herald columnist Leonard Pitts: "At some point, though, a problem ought to be defined less by our ability to explain why it happens than by our willingness to demand that it happen no more."

Visit SecretsofGreatRelationships.com for tips and tools for creating and growing a great relationship. You can also subscribe to our f*r*e*e 10 day e-program on how to enrich your relationship today, from relationship coach and expert Jeff Herring.

In The News:


School's inspirational banner teaches a life lesson
Vancouver Sun
But for Vancouver swimmer Scott Dickens, those words, in big red and white letters on a banner at the back of a school gymnasium in his hometown of Ancaster, Ont., four years ago became life altering and a huge inspiration. "Three words that definitely ...

and more »

Moneycontrol.com

US: Arab uprisings 'inspirational' but destabilizing for Mideast
CNN
The report itself says: "The yearning for change we have witnessed in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen, and Syria is inspirational, and yet change often creates instability before it leads to greater respect for democracy and human rights.
US hails Arab Spring but warns of instabilityeuronews

all 28 news articles »

Inspirational Network's David Cerullo is highest-paid nonprofit exec
Bizjournals.com (blog)
David Cerullo, president and chief executive of The Inspirational Network Inc., tops the list, with $1.9 million in compensation. Marc Favaro and Bill Airy, also executives at the Lancaster County based-network, hold the second and third spots on the ...


Catskill Daily Mail

Dennis Walters Provides The Inspiration To Follow Your Dreams
Catskill Daily Mail
However, what could be certainly considered the highlight of the show despite the entertaining golf antics is the inspirational message woven into the show. “Once I started golfing again, I took to the road and for me, it was good therapy,” Walters ...


Inspirational Journey for female engineers at Atkins
The Engineer
Atkins has joined An Inspirational Journey, an initiative aimed at increasing the number of women working at the senior corporate level in Britain's boardrooms. Atkins said in a statement that it has signed up a team of women that have been identified ...


£600000 for "inspirational" awards programme
eGov monitor
Mr Salmond said the Foundation and the Leadership Award, run in partnership with the Outward Bound Trust for the last 14 years, were an inspiration, helping change the lives of more than 1750 young people who have taken part since the programme's ...

and more »

AFP

'Yearning for change' in Arab states inspirational: US
AFP
The report said "the yearning for change we have witnessed in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen, and Syria is inspirational, and yet change often creates instability before it leads to greater respect for democracy and human rights.

and more »

DAWN.com

'Yearning for change' in Arab states inspirational: US
DAWN.com
“The yearning for change we have witnessed in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen, and Syria is inspirational,” said US State Department report on human rights. -Reuters Photo WASHINGTON: A US report hailed the “yearning for change” in Arab countries and ...

and more »

Globe and Mail

The California Historical Society Releases Inaugural Free Multimedia eBook ...
MarketWatch (press release)
The phrase is borrowed from a 1921 promotional prospectus for the Golden Gate Bridge in which the authors, chief engineer for the bridge Joseph Strauss and San Francisco city engineer MM O'Shaughnessy, used inspirational language to set a tone for the ...
Jack Dorsey takes staff on Golden Gate BridgeBizjournals.com (blog)

all 151 news articles »

Obama hails Joplin grads as 'source of inspiration'
Politico (blog)
By JENNIFER EPSTEIN | President Obama on Monday told the graduates of tornado-ravaged Joplin High School that while commencement speakers are generally expected to be inspirational, it's the people of the Missouri town who have inspired him.

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