A year from now

Where will you be a year from now? Where would you most like to be?

There is so much you've learned and experienced on your journey to this day. Imagine what you can now do with it all.

This new year is a grand opportunity, filled with promise and possibilities. Choose now the very best of those possibilities, and know that you have the power to bring them to life.

You will spend this coming year moving in one direction or another. Commit now to making that direction the one that will take you toward what you sincerely desire.

Life in each moment is influenced by your presence and participation. As this new year unfolds, continue to make that influence a positive and fulfilling one.

Consider today where you would like to be a year from now. For now is the beginning of the year in which you can truly make it happen.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2008 Ralph S. Marston, Jr. From The Daily Motivator at http://greatday.com where you will find an archive of more than 3,000 positive messages plus books, CDs, motivational videos and more. Permission is given to post online only if this entire notice is included.

Time flows on

The passage of time does not matter to you. It only matters to the body you inhabit and the material artifacts with which you surround yourself.

Wisdom grows upon itself in an ever-expanding manner. There is always room for more, and there always will be.

Beauty becomes more beautiful as you connect more intensely to it. Life increases in fulfillment as it is lived.

Time does not add or subtract or create or destroy anything on its own. Time merely spaces out your perception of what is always real, and gives you the opportunity to experience it all to the fullest extent.

As quickly as the old times flow away from you, new times flow toward you. Each new moment brings even more possibilities than the moment that has just passed.

Time flows on. And as it does, you can continue to fill your world with the best that life can be.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2008 Ralph S. Marston, Jr. From The Daily Motivator at http://greatday.com where you will find an archive of more than 3,000 positive messages plus books, CDs, motivational videos and more. Permission is given to post online only if this entire notice is included.

Now is your moment

It is now, and now is different. Even though you may have experienced an overwhelming amount of disappointment in the past, the past is over.

Perhaps you've failed again and again. Now is different.

That was then and this is now. Now you have the opportunity to move forward.

Now you can do what you've never been able to do before. Now you can follow through on the things you've been unable or unwilling to do in the past.

Now is your moment to live. Now is the time to act.

Now is when you can truly make a difference. Stand up, step forward and live.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2008 Ralph S. Marston, Jr. From The Daily Motivator at http://greatday.com where you will find an archive of more than 3,000 positive messages plus books, CDs, motivational videos and more. Permission is given to post online only if this entire notice is included.

Powerful or desperate?

You can either be desperate or you can be powerful. How would you prefer to be?

You can ignore your responsibilities and continue to let yourself fall more and more behind, until you have no choice but to desperately take action. Or, you can push yourself a little bit more each day, grabbing every opportunity to make progress, and put yourself firmly in control of your own circumstances.

Use time as it comes, to be productive and creative and effective. The more wisely you use your time, the more control you'll have over all the aspects of your life.

Get in the habit of doing what is best instead of merely what is easiest. In fact, seek out the difficult challenges and deal with them on your own terms rather than waiting until they find you.

If you wish, you can come up with plenty of excuses for not taking action. But those excuses will add nothing of value to your life.

Instead, go ahead and do what must be done, then take the initiative and do even more. Live life on the highest level by working your way upward each chance you get.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2008 Ralph S. Marston, Jr. From The Daily Motivator at http://greatday.com where you will find an archive of more than 3,000 positive messages plus books, CDs, motivational videos and more. Permission is given to post online only if this entire notice is included.

Live in truth

What is true will persevere. What is false will eventually be consumed in its own contradictions.

It may seem easier and more convenient in the short term to disregard or to hide from what you know to be true. Yet you cannot really hide from the truth.

Instead of striving in vain to deny or to fight against what is true, put yourself on the side of truth. By fully acknowledging and accepting what is true, you can put that truth to work to achieve whatever you wish.

Whether it is deceiving yourself or deceiving others, deception requires much time and energy. And because deception never really achieves anything of value, it is a great waste of your precious life and resources.

Instead, put that time and energy into successfully dealing with the truth. After all, you'll have to deal with it eventually, and the sooner you begin the more you'll be able to accomplish.

Live every moment in truth. Align yourself fully with the truth, and bring great power to your purpose.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2008 Ralph S. Marston, Jr. From The Daily Motivator at http://greatday.com where you will find an archive of more than 3,000 positive messages plus books, CDs, motivational videos and more. Permission is given to post online only if this entire notice is included.

Begin

Begin today to live without limitations. Know that there is a way to get beyond anything that might seem to be holding you back.

Take those feelings of regret for what you haven't done and turn them into passion for what you are now able to do. This moment is yours and you can make so very much of it.

Stop repeating to yourself the reasons why you can't. Begin reminding yourself, again and again, of all the powerful, meaningful reasons why you must.

Life is full of uncertainty, injustice and unfairness. Yet in each and every turn of events, there is opportunity for achievement, for fulfillment, and for genuine greatness.

Begin today to accept every rich detail of life as it comes, and to transform those details into outstanding success. Pay close attention to the gentle, genuine voice inside of you that knows how beautiful life can be.

Do the work, make the effort, persist through every circumstance, and delight in the rich rewards that your passion creates. Begin today, for you know you can.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2008 Ralph S. Marston, Jr. From The Daily Motivator at http://greatday.com where you will find an archive of more than 3,000 positive messages plus books, CDs, motivational videos and more. Permission is given to post online only if this entire notice is included.

The joy of giving

What a blessing it is on this Christmas Day, and every day, to be able to give. For it is through giving that life's greatest joys are created.

Sincerely give of yourself today, with no agenda other than to celebrate the pure spirit of giving. And truly experience life in all its richness.

When you give, you open your heart to life and allow great measures of abundance to come pouring in. What could possibly bring more meaning and fulfillment to life than making a difference in the lives of others?

Giving is more than merely offering objects. When you give, give your time, your attention, your love, compassion, consideration, patience and respect.

Give a part of yourself, and you will not ever lose it. That part of you takes on greater influence and value as it touches other lives beyond your own.

On this day, simply give because you can. And know the unmatched joy that giving brings to life.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2008 Ralph S. Marston, Jr. From The Daily Motivator at http://greatday.com where you will find an archive of more than 3,000 positive messages plus books, CDs, motivational videos and more. Permission is given to post online only if this entire notice is included.

Silent reflection

For just a while, calm your thoughts. In this moment, simply be.

There is much in your life, and there is much more to come. Yet you have always been, and you always are, more than enough.

For a moment, let go of the way you appear and the things you've done. Feel the truth and power of who you are.

In silence, there is much you can know. Beyond thought, there is much you can understand.

Touch the person who always lives inside the person you are. Be immersed in the beauty and wonder of being.

Feel the strength that is always there. And know that whatever may come, all is well.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2008 Ralph S. Marston, Jr. From The Daily Motivator at http://greatday.com where you will find an archive of more than 3,000 positive messages plus books, CDs, motivational videos and more. Permission is given to post online only if this entire notice is included.

Top yourself

When you've done well, set your sights on doing even better. If you've successfully reached high, reach even higher.

Make it your business to top yourself. Make it your goal to exceed your own best efforts.

As great as it has been, what you've already finished achieving will not drive you forward. Before you reach each goal, be ready with another one.

The possibilities for growth and achievement have no limit. When you're going strong, there are plenty of ways to get even stronger.

One of the very best things about success is that it serves as the basis for greater success. Don't let your success go to waste by simply sitting on it.

Find a way to top yourself. You've done great so far, and now you can do even better.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2008 Ralph S. Marston, Jr. From The Daily Motivator at http://greatday.com where you will find an archive of more than 3,000 positive messages plus books, CDs, motivational videos and more. Permission is given to post online only if this entire notice is included.

Enjoy the achieving

Consistent achievers enjoy more than just the achievement. They also enjoy the process of achieving.

Those who attain the biggest rewards do not merely seek those rewards. They also crave the challenges that they must go through in order to reach those rewards.

Winners understand that the goal, as valuable as it may be, is only a small part of the overall achievement. They know that the real substance of the achievement is in the achieving.

In fact, you cannot truly benefit from the reward unless you have worked through the challenging process to attain it. To truly enjoy the achievement, you must also enjoy the achieving of it.

Sure, that process of achieving will have its unpleasant and disagreeable aspects. Yet think of how great it will feel when you purposefully transcend them all.

Let go of your judgment about what's pleasant, what's comfortable, and what's not. Sincerely enjoy the journey of achievement, and you'll surely reach the goal.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2008 Ralph S. Marston, Jr. From The Daily Motivator at http://greatday.com where you will find an archive of more than 3,000 positive messages plus books, CDs, motivational videos and more. Permission is given to post online only if this entire notice is included.

Positive direction

The magnitude of your next step does not matter nearly so much. What really matters is the direction.

To turn your life around, you must first turn your focus around. To move toward your goals, you must first be facing them.

Just a small step in a positive direction is a step nonetheless. Just one small positive thought has the power to turn you away from years of negative actions.

Every moment is a choice. And every moment you can choose to orient your life in a positive direction.

You don't have to take big strides, for the small steps will get you there just as reliably. Just make sure that each thought, each action, each feeling, however insignificant it might seem, points toward where you desire to go.

Maintain a positive direction, and no matter what else happens, you'll always be making progress. Keep yourself pointed in the direction of your dreams, and every day will bring you closer.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2008 Ralph S. Marston, Jr. From The Daily Motivator at http://greatday.com where you will find an archive of more than 3,000 positive messages plus books, CDs, motivational videos and more. Permission is given to post online only if this entire notice is included.

Higher expectations

When you discover that you've exceeded your own best expectations, don't be frightened. Be curious, and get a little more ambitious.

After all, you've done something you never expected you could do. Think of what else you could now do that you would have never before considered.

Though it's great to succeed beyond your expectations, it can also be very uncomfortable. And that discomfort can pull you back down, getting you to underperform in order to compensate for your recent spectacular performance.

Instead of giving in to that need for comfort, get excited about what you've just accomplished. Instead of bowing to your previous expectations, choose to raise your expectations even higher.

No, you didn't just get lucky. You took the actions necessary to accomplish even more than you had expected.

Now you have the outstanding opportunity to build on that accomplishment. Step boldly forward, don't look back, and continue amazing yourself with all that you can do.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2008 Ralph S. Marston, Jr. From The Daily Motivator at http://greatday.com where you will find an archive of more than 3,000 positive messages plus books, CDs, motivational videos and more. Permission is given to post online only if this entire notice is included.

Connection

Conflict is not your nature. Peace is your true home.

When you choose to see yourself as apart from others, you separate yourself from your greatest possibilities. Feel the connection with all that is, and naturally know the peaceful power and effectiveness that is yours.

Improve the lives of others, and your own life benefits greatly. The more joy you give away, the more joy you experience.

You can never truly gain at another person's expense. Yet you always receive when you work to sincerely give.

Live each day with awareness and respect for your ever-present connection with everything that is. Work to enrich every little corner of your world, and you will experience the abundance of that richness.

Let the peace that lives deep within you influence each thought and deed. And make the whole world a more beautiful place.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2008 Ralph S. Marston, Jr. From The Daily Motivator at http://greatday.com where you will find an archive of more than 3,000 positive messages plus books, CDs, motivational videos and more. Permission is given to post online only if this entire notice is included.

Everything you have

There is so very much available to you. In reaching for your dreams, make use of everything you have.

Don't be dismayed or embarrassed by what you have to work with. Instead, work with whatever you have and it will grow more useful and effective with each effort.

Don't place a judgment on your abilities before you even put them to use. Go ahead, get to work, and see how quickly your skills increase.

Look back at the good things you've accomplished in the past. That power of accomplishment is still with you, so choose now to put it to use again for even more exciting and compelling purposes.

Think of all the great ideas you've had but have never followed through on. Now is when you can make the best of them come to life.

The challenges are great and yet the value that flows through your life is far greater. Use everything you can, and you can accomplish anything you choose.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2008 Ralph S. Marston, Jr. From The Daily Motivator at http://greatday.com where you will find an archive of more than 3,000 positive messages plus books, CDs, motivational videos and more. Permission is given to post online only if this entire notice is included.

Experience today

Today you have the opportunity for a great experience. Today you have the undeniable chance to really live.

It is up to you to take advantage of that opportunity. It is up to you to make the most of this day, and to live the great, unique experience this day offers.

Perhaps you'll conclude that there are too many problems keeping you from experiencing a great day, yet that would be an unfortunate mistake. For even in the face of overwhelming problems and obstacles, today can be a truly unique and positive experience.

In fact, those problems can play a very positive role in the great experience of this day. By working your way through whatever may come along, you build a greater appreciation for all the goodness that surrounds you.

You also build your confidence, strength and effectiveness to higher and higher levels. And that opens the doors to vast new areas of opportunity and achievement.

Today is here now, so go ahead and jump into it with everything you have. Experience the richness of this day, and you'll carry its unique value with you always.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2008 Ralph S. Marston, Jr. From The Daily Motivator at http://greatday.com where you will find an archive of more than 3,000 positive messages plus books, CDs, motivational videos and more. Permission is given to post online only if this entire notice is included.

Into action

When you don't feel like doing what you know you must, that's the best time to go ahead and do it anyway. That's when you can break through your old habit patterns to a new level of focus, performance and achievement.

That first step will require you to go against your natural tendency to put it off until later and to stay comfortably where you are. So how do you get beyond that?

Use your power of visualization to do two things. First, use your thoughts to make it even more uncomfortable, even more painful for you not to take action.

Next, visualize in great detail all the positive and desirable rewards you'll create by going ahead and getting it done. In your mind, make it so compelling to take action that you cannot avoid doing so.

Many times in the past, you've successfully avoided action by telling yourself why you can't or why you won't. Now, choose to use that same power to tell yourself why you can and why you will.

You control the awesome power of your thoughts. And with your thoughts you can successfully visualize yourself into action every time.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2008 Ralph S. Marston, Jr. From The Daily Motivator at http://greatday.com where you will find an archive of more than 3,000 positive messages plus books, CDs, motivational videos and more. Permission is given to post online only if this entire notice is included.

Your sincere best

If reality isn't working for you, change it. If there are limitations that hold you back, transcend them.

Reality is what you make of it. Life is the way you choose to live it.

Gently accept the way things are. And then put the energy of your focus on exactly how you would like for things to be.

Everything in your world happens for a reason. Get yourself some good, meaningful, compelling reasons and use them to drive events forward.

You don't have to settle for anything less than the absolute best for yourself and your world. For you can act in every moment with the positive, purposeful energy of your own unique life.

Give your sincere best in every moment, at every opportunity. And make the reality of life as outstandingly beautiful as you know it can be.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2008 Ralph S. Marston, Jr. From The Daily Motivator at http://greatday.com where you will find an archive of more than 3,000 positive messages plus books, CDs, motivational videos and more. Permission is given to post online only if this entire notice is included.

Unfair

You won't become successful by complaining that life is unfair. Certainly there are many injustices in the world, yet you won't get anywhere by using those injustices as excuses.

Your best response is to work over, under, around and through them. Accept the fact that life is unfair, and choose to experience outstanding success anyway.

It is admirable to fight against injustice. But fighting against injustice may very well make that injustice even stronger.

A better way to end injustice is to make it irrelevant. When you create ways for yourself and others to succeed in spite of unfair circumstances, then you render those circumstances powerless.

The world is filled with inequity and unfairness. And yet, there are always plenty of workable and creative ways to rise above those negative circumstances.

When something in life is unfair, choose to succeed anyway. And make that unfairness so small and insignificant it won't even matter.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2008 Ralph S. Marston, Jr. From The Daily Motivator at http://greatday.com where you will find an archive of more than 3,000 positive messages plus books, CDs, motivational videos and more. Permission is given to post online only if this entire notice is included.

A little bit

Making a little bit of progress is much better than making no progress at all. Even though the going may be slow, keep going.

Moving slowly toward your goal is much better than not moving at all. Do what you can, when you can, with what you have.

Time will work in your favor when you use that time for positive purpose. Over time, even the small efforts bring big results.

If you waste your time wishing you could do more, you end up doing less. Cheerfully use your time as it comes to do the best you can.

Even when you're not able to take a major step forward, you can always take a small step forward. Keep taking those small steps, and the opportunity to take that big step will surely come.

A little bit here and a little bit there will soon add up to a lot of progress. Even when you can't do much, you can always keep yourself actively headed in a positive direction.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2008 Ralph S. Marston, Jr. From The Daily Motivator at http://greatday.com where you will find an archive of more than 3,000 positive messages plus books, CDs, motivational videos and more. Permission is given to post online only if this entire notice is included.

No more resistance

Allowing the best of life involves nothing more than becoming aware of your resistance to it. Shine the light of awareness on your resistance, and that resistance dissolves into nothing.

Allow life's richness to be, and it flows freely into your experience. See your pain and frustration for the resistance that they are, and suddenly they are no more.

If you focus on the concerns of your ego, the resistance builds up. Realize that you are not your ego, and suddenly the resistance has no basis.

Resisting the limitless abundance of life is your own choice. As soon as you understand you've made that choice, you can quickly let it go.

Imagine what will happen when you simply stop judging, criticizing, and resenting yourself and others. You open yourself to a whole new world of beautiful possibilities.

Feel the resistance that you've created within your own life, and know that you can choose to peacefully let it go. Let it go, and come fully to life.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2008 Ralph S. Marston, Jr. From The Daily Motivator at http://greatday.com where you will find an archive of more than 3,000 positive messages plus books, CDs, motivational videos and more. Permission is given to post online only if this entire notice is included.

Closer than ever

Failure does not prevent success. In fact, failure is what leads to success.

There is no failure, no disappointment, no mistake in your past that can stop you from taking a positive step forward right now. No matter how many times you may have fallen short of the mark before, success is closer than ever.

Each time you get it wrong, you learn more about how to get it right. Keep putting that growing knowledge and experience to use, and you'll reach your goal.

Every disappointment you've ever known is now in the past. The past is over and cannot hold you back.

Now is when you're able to move forward. Today you can take the valuable lessons you've learned and transform them into effective action.

Every step you've taken, whether it seemed to work or not, has brought you closer to success. Now go ahead and take the additional steps that will bring you all the way there.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2008 Ralph S. Marston, Jr. From The Daily Motivator at http://greatday.com where you will find an archive of more than 3,000 positive messages plus books, CDs, motivational videos and more. Permission is given to post online only if this entire notice is included.

Attempt more

If you wish to achieve more, then attempt more. Push yourself beyond what you already know you're able to do.

Get out of the rut of going through the same motions and ending up with the same results. Put some additional time, energy, thought and creativity into your actions.

Take on challenges that make you a little bit uncomfortable. Stretch your abilities and watch them grow.

Decide to reach higher and you'll find many new ways to move higher. Raise your expectations and you'll improve your performance.

Keep on learning, keep on growing, and keep on venturing beyond what you already know. Give yourself the gift of increasingly ambitious goals.

Enjoy and appreciate how far you've already come. Then jump back in and make it even better.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2008 Ralph S. Marston, Jr. From The Daily Motivator at http://greatday.com where you will find an archive of more than 3,000 positive messages plus books, CDs, motivational videos and more. Permission is given to post online only if this entire notice is included.

Disillusionment

If you often find yourself feeling disillusioned, that's a strong indication that you're hungry for a greater level of challenge in your life. Disillusionment can be your way of telling yourself that there's a valuable contribution you know you must make to life.

Go ahead and feel that disillusion fully, then ask yourself this question. What specifically would make the disillusion end?

Somewhere within you is a vision that is being stifled. Dig it out, and find a positive way to make it come to life.

Instead of being drained by disillusion, become energized by the vision that you long to express. Transform the reason that you're feeling down into a positive purpose that drives you forward.

Discover the meaningful challenge that you're aching to take on. Experience true fulfillment as you steadily work through that challenge.

Feel the disillusion, learn what it is telling you, and then you can leave it behind. For from that disillusion you can step forward to a new and higher level of accomplishment.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2008 Ralph S. Marston, Jr. From The Daily Motivator at http://greatday.com where you will find an archive of more than 3,000 positive messages plus books, CDs, motivational videos and more. Permission is given to post online only if this entire notice is included.

Your thoughts show

Thoughts can feel like they are private and hidden deep inside of you. Yet they have an influence that extends far beyond you.

What if others could know what you were thinking? Would it change the content of your thoughts?

In many ways, other people can and do know what you are thinking. Because your thoughts are faithfully expressed by the life you lead.

If you're constantly thinking negative, limiting thoughts, people will be able to tell just by looking at you and your life's conditions. In the same way, when you fill your mind with positive, empowering thoughts, that will be wonderfully obvious.

You might be able to hide the specific details of your thoughts. Yet you cannot hide the true nature of those thoughts.

Your thoughts, whatever they may be, are expressed in every aspect of your life. Continually guide those thoughts to positive places, and your whole world will follow.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2008 Ralph S. Marston, Jr. From The Daily Motivator at http://greatday.com where you will find an archive of more than 3,000 positive messages plus books, CDs, motivational videos and more. Permission is given to post online only if this entire notice is included.

Get it done

Stop waiting for the task to get easier. Waiting will only make it more difficult.

Go ahead and get it done. Then you can move on to something even better.

The effort may indeed be difficult and painful. So it's best to have that effort behind you rather than in front of you.

Imagine how great it will feel to have it done. Imagine being free of that little voice in the back of your mind that keeps nagging you about it.

You cannot avoid the pain of effort. You can either prolong that pain by procrastinating, or you can get it done and get it over with.

Start right now to get it done, and soon you'll have it finished. Get it done, and delight in the glorious feeling of freedom and accomplishment.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2008 Ralph S. Marston, Jr. From The Daily Motivator at http://greatday.com where you will find an archive of more than 3,000 positive messages plus books, CDs, motivational videos and more. Permission is given to post online only if this entire notice is included.

Make a difference

Your time is never wasted when you're truly making a difference. Every productive effort adds value to your world.

Don't worry about what's in it for you. If you're making a difference, if you're making a positive contribution to life, there's always something in it for you.

Though there may not seem to be any direct or immediate rewards, your efforts will most certainly be rewarded. The longer you're willing to wait for those rewards, the bigger they will be.

Many times your efforts will pay off in ways you could not have foreseen. Keep being creative, keep being productive, keep being effective, and keep being your best.

It may sometimes seem that no one appreciates the work you're doing. When you feel that way, then raise your efforts to an even higher level, for at some point someone will definitely take notice.

Be sincere in your efforts and in your desire to make a valuable, meaningful positive difference. And know that the rewards will always come.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2008 Ralph S. Marston, Jr. From The Daily Motivator at http://greatday.com where you will find an archive of more than 3,000 positive messages plus books, CDs, motivational videos and more. Permission is given to post online only if this entire notice is included.

Dream and do

There's a time to dream, without effort or constraint. And there's a time to do the work that will bring those dreams to life in the real world.

Visualize your ideal life. In your thoughts, experience that life in rich detail through all of your senses.

Dream big, rich empowering dreams that resonate with your very core. Explore joyful and creative ways to express your own unique purpose.

Then get busy and make the dreams happen. Allow them to drive you, to push you forward.

Feel the excitement and the sense of accomplishment as your very own efforts bring about the fulfillment of your dreams, step by step. Grow stronger, more capable, more experienced as you work your way through each challenge.

Set yourself free to dream, and then discipline yourself to do the dream. Be the dream and be the achievement of the dream that is uniquely yours.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2008 Ralph S. Marston, Jr. From The Daily Motivator at http://greatday.com where you will find an archive of more than 3,000 positive messages plus books, CDs, motivational videos and more. Permission is given to post online only if this entire notice is included.