Relax and richly live

When you don't have time to relax, that's when relaxation will help you most. Go ahead, and allow yourself to relax.

Let go of the thoughts that race through your mind. For a while, put your focus on being here and now, dropping your concerns of later and before.

There is immense inexhaustible value deep within you right now. Relax, and feel the gentle power of authentic presence.

To relax, you don't have to stop what you're doing. You just have to stop fighting against it.

Stop clinging to what you think you need. Start allowing the beauty of what is.

Relax, and discover that relaxing does not waste your time. Relax, and richly live the moment.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2010 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.

Achieving excellence

You're not here to just get by. You're here to live life with excellence.

Excellence requires your focused effort and devotion. Excellence comes from your commitment to getting it right.

Excellence is well worth all that effort and commitment. When you live with excellence, you live at life's highest level.

If you're going to do something, do what's necessary to do it with excellence. If you're going to spend the time and make the effort, make enough effort to make it great.

You are absolutely capable of achieving excellence in your own unique ways. Why would you settle for anything less?

Instead of merely getting by, get excited about your best possibilities. And then get going on fulfilling them with excellence.

The whole world is lifted higher by those who choose to create excellence. Be a source of relentless excellence and truly make a difference.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2010 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.

How much higher

By doing what you must do, you learn what you can do. By learning what you can do, you raise your expectations.

Get out and participate in life. Take on challenges and make things happen.

The only way to know for sure what you're capable of doing, is to get busy and put your abilities to the test. When you do, you'll discover new and valuable skills, interests and passions that can take you far.

It's comfortable to stick with what you know. Yet the time will come when just doing what you already know you can do won't be sufficient.

Of course you'll make some mistakes and experience some setbacks out at the edges of your abilities. The thing is, even those setbacks can bring you valuable experience.

You are capable of so much more than you know. Jump into life and enjoy finding out how very much higher you can soar.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2010 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.

Another road

If something looks to be impossible, look at it in a different way. What you wish to do can be done, though perhaps not in the way you originally thought.

Just because one road is blocked, does not mean that the destination is unreachable. You can always find another road, or make your own.

An important part of any achievement is making it your own achievement. It is your very own dream, and you must find your own way there.

Whatever seems to be blocking you is merely guiding you to be more creative. Each challenge brings with it a new opportunity to add your own unique value to the effort.

Don't let your mind get so tightly wrapped around the problems of the moment that you fail to see the larger possibilities. Know that there's a way to move forward, and you'll find it.

Your imagination is what first connected you to your dream. Nourish that imagination and let it carry you all the way there.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2010 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 truth in your desire

You can imagine what has never been. You can imagine the way to make it so.

The urges and impulses and insights you have are never trivial. They have their roots in your deepest purpose.

With your awareness of this moment, of this day, you create it. With your love of all that is and of what can be, you bring it to life.

In every desire there is pure truth. In every longing is pure energy.

Feel that energy, see that truth, and let it pull you toward fulfillment. The truth in your desire is already yours, and your purpose is to express it.

All that you desire, all that you imagine, is here and now. Go ahead and bring it fully to life.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2010 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.

Even though you don't feel like it

What's the best thing to do if you can't get motivated to take action that you know you must take? Go ahead and do it anyway.

Sure, it's nice to be positively motivated. Yet even if you lack the motivation, you still have the ability to act.

Even if you don't feel like doing what must be done, you can still do it. Yes, your feelings are powerful, but you are even more powerful.

What if you simply laughed at those negative feelings, and went on ahead with your actions? You already know that it must be done, so you already have a perfectly good reason.

In fact, going ahead and taking action right away is a whole lot more pleasant than agonizing about it for hours or days or weeks. Plus it's a whole lot more pleasant than feeling guilty for not getting it done.

So even though you don't feel like it, do it anyway. Then see how great you will suddenly feel.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2010 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.

Peaceful, genuine thankfulness

A difficult situation is challenging enough on its own. Don't make it worse by adding your own anxiety to it.

Instead, be peacefully and genuinely thankful. Whatever the circumstances are, choose to be thankful for the moment and for your opportunity to experience it.

Sincere, heartfelt thankfulness will calm your spirit and open your eyes to the positive possibilities. Instead of being intimidated by the challenges, you'll become inspired by the opportunities.

Be thankful for what has happened to bring you to where you are. After all, what has happened, has happened, and your best response is to find the value in it.

That value is most definitely there. By choosing to recognize it, you can make any moment, and any situation, into a powerful opportunity for making real progress.

When you feel anxiety creeping into your awareness, overwhelm it with peaceful, genuine thankfulness. And fill the moment with the power of your best possibilities.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2010 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.

There's a way

When it's something you truly wish to do, there's a way to get it done. There's a way to cut through all the objections, obstacles and excuses, and to make it happen.

If you don't know how, then you can learn. If you can't find anyone to teach you, then you can figure out your own approach.

If you don't have time, examine and update your priorities. Remember why it's important to you, and keep remembering as you continue taking effective action.

If it seems way too overwhelming, start with just a tiny first step. If you're not progressing fast enough, use a little bit of innovation to leverage your efforts.

Achievement is one of life's greatest adventures. You owe it to yourself to enjoy as much of it as you possibly can.

Set yourself a meaningful goal and add some great new value to your world. Make the commitment to start right now, and you'll quickly find that there's a way.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2010 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.

Transform regrets

Do you feel sadness and disappointment for what you have failed to do? Then you have some powerful energy for moving yourself forward.

Do you feel regret for the missed opportunities? That painful regret has a positive purpose.

For although those past opportunities are gone, even more powerful ones have arisen to take their place. What's even better is that you now have more reason than ever to make the most of them.

You can easily and naturally transform sadness into motivation. You can transform the regrets into powerful and unstoppable determination.

Feel the intensity of your own energy. Realize you can point that energy in any direction you choose.

Choose to point it forward, in alignment with your highest purpose and most treasured dreams. Now is the time that matters, and now you can make life great.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2010 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 power

You have the power to achieve the best. Allow it.

You have a purpose that comes directly from your authentic essence. Accept it, acknowledge it, explore it, and allow it to flow into every corner of your world.

Striving and fighting only hold you back. Now it is time to live every moment with the positive power you know you have.

Now is the time to love and to fulfill the beauty that you know can be. Now you can let authentic life flow.

The problems hold you back only because you see them as problems. Now it is time to see every circumstance as the opportunity that it is.

Every desire, every hope, every longing is already fulfilled by your possibilities. Now is the time to live them fully.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2010 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.

Choose the future

Don't waste your energy on fear of the future. Put that energy into creating a future that's just the way you want it to be.

Worrying about what might happen gets you nowhere. When you feel the need to worry, transform that negative energy into positive action.

If you're motivated to worry, that very same motivation can push you to do something positive. Feel the need, and then take the action.

That future you're so concerned about has not happened yet. Right now, on this day, in this moment, you have the opportunity to do something about it.

Your passion, your commitment and your effort are what will determine how your future unfolds. You can choose that future today.

Choose a future that includes fulfillment, joy, achievement, love and peaceful purpose. Choose your very best future now, and leave your worries behind.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2010 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 yourself interested

The way to get good is to get interested. The way to get great is to get downright fascinated and passionate.

Imagine being completely intrigued, and so passionate about something that you simply can't get too much of it. When you can do that in some particular field of expertise or endeavor, you can accomplish anything you choose to accomplish in that area.

And how do you do that? How do you bring out that passion and intensity of interest in something?

You immerse yourself in it. You stimulate all your senses with it, focus all your thoughts on it, and open all your emotions to it.

At first, that's an effort, to get yourself to get interested. Yet the more you persist, the more you will truly get into it, and the easier it becomes.

The world will lay reward after reward upon those who live with genuine, passionate interest. Be that person, get yourself interested, build the passion and achieve something truly outstanding.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2010 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.

Already yours

You're already a success. Now is when you can expand on that success and thereby make it even more meaningful and fulfilling.

You're already skilled at accomplishing what you decide to accomplish. Now is when you can choose to focus your efforts on reaching for the dreams that will give your life outstanding richness.

You are already immersed in a sea of abundance. Now is when you can express that abundance in ways that are beautifully and uniquely you.

There is no need to wait another moment. This is the time when you can make a difference.

Imagine the possibilities that are now here, and now yours. With your intention, with your commitment, with your actions you can bring the best of those possibilities to life.

Make loving use of the great value that is already yours. Give life more meaning and joy than ever before.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2010 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.

Reach

The path between wanting and having is doing. To stop just wanting, and begin having, then start doing.

The greatest, most well-conceived plans are worthless if they're not acted upon. If it's going to happen, someone must make it happen.

All sorts of outstanding opportunities are open to the person who is willing to take action. Be that person, take that action, with commitment and persistence, and reap the valuable rewards of fulfilling those opportunities.

You don't have to be a world-renowned genius to be smart enough to take action. You don't need anyone's permission to act on your dream.

You must simply do it. Figure out what has to happen and take complete responsibility for making it happen.

Anything you truly desire is within your reach. Simply stand up, lift up your commitment, lift up your spirit, lift up your arms and do precisely that -- reach.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2010 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.

Beyond reason

It's completely reasonable to get discouraged when things are not going your way. And yet, as reasonable as it may be, getting discouraged and staying discouraged won't do you any good.

Fortunately, you don't always have to be reasonable. You can choose to meet every setback not with discouragement, but with hope and positive passion and enthusiasm for moving forward.

There's always a next step that you can take, so take it. Sure, that next step may not work out, and yet it is infinitely better than giving up.

Life's greatest successes will often defy reason. Even when there is no logical, reasonable way, there is a way.

Your mind and its reasoning ability are amazingly powerful. And yet, there is more to life than just reason.

When you must, go beyond reason and feel the positive driving passion of your purpose. Feel the passion, persist through every challenge, and bring your dream to life.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2010 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.

Exactly what

Once you know exactly what you desire, you have a way to get there. Once you define the objective clearly and with precision, the path begins to appear.

Then it's just a matter of taking the necessary actions. And you're fully capable of that.

The big question is, are you willing? When the purpose has real meaning to you, then you are indeed willing to do what must be done to reach it.

Dig deep, past the things you don't know why you want. Be brutally honest with yourself, and find what it is that you truly desire.

Allow your authentic purpose to be your source of energy. It's a source that will never run dry.

Yes you can, when you know what it is. Yes you can, when you truly know why.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2010 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.

One thing better

Don't despair that you can't immediately make everything better. You can always make one thing better.

Then, you can continue that momentum, making another improvement, and another, and another. You can start right now.

Even one little success is empowering. It points you in a decidedly positive direction.

What if you could see each little nagging problem as the opportunity for improvement that it is? You would realize that there's no shortage of ways to be successful.

You already have everything necessary to start right now and create a continuous stream of value. One positive, effective, meaningful effort will get you going.

Feel how right it feels to make your world better. Delight in making a difference, over and over again.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2010 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.

In what you imagine

What you imagine is real. What you imagine comes from the truth of you.

In what you imagine there is great and wonderful treasure. And the more you dare to imagine, the more extensive and valuable that treasure becomes.

What you imagine connects you to your purpose. What is it that you can imagine that makes you feel truly ecstatic?

In what you most enthusiastically imagine you'll discover the best of who you can be. From what you imagine can come a lifetime of unique achievement.

See what you imagine not as a fantasy but as a preview of your most sincere intentions. Then allow the beauty of what you imagine to guide you in making it real.

Imagine your own special flavor of life's great abundance. Imagine, and bring it to life.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2010 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.

Meaning in the effort

Because there is darkness, light has value. Because of the challenges, the rewards have meaning.

The essence of great art is in the authentic physical, mental and spiritual effort that creates it. If it were easy, instant and free, no one would care about it.

When the path becomes steep, that's no reason to despair. For it means you are making progress and nearing the top.

Do you find yourself wishing that life could be easier? Take that as your prompting to go out and make it more meaningful.

Because a life free of effort is not really what you want. What you really want is for every effort to bring a meaningful sense of fulfillment.

When your purpose is clear and honestly you, everything is an opportunity. Feel the beauty of that purpose, and eagerly greet whatever may come.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2010 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 you can

What thought are you holding that is holding you back? Now you can let it go.

Nothing will come when you try to get it. Now you can stop trying and let it be.

The task is as difficult as you decide to make it. Now you can choose to let it easily and naturally flow.

The little things can give you an excuse to stop, or a place from which to jump to a higher level. Now you can be more authentic and effective than ever.

Proceed with the assumption that you will, and you will. Now you can make a valuable difference.

Touch the vision of who you wish to be, where you wish to go, and how you wish to live. Now you can let it come fully to life.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2010 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.

What makes bliss

If you can describe the reason why in words, it's not the deepest reason why. There's another more profound reason beyond it.

Your mind can be very logical and objective. Your true purpose is neither logical nor objective.

What lives at the heart of you, requires no explanation or justification. What nourishes and sustains your deepest purpose, is for you to feel it, and feel it often.

Feel that inner purpose from which you cannot ever be apart. Give it new life in every moment by allowing it expression through the way you live.

Life is not about doing only what makes sense. Also do what makes bliss.

Let your spirit go beyond what your mind can comprehend. In that place, it is all beauty, all love, all fulfillment, always.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2010 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 time

Yes, of course you're busy. Even so, make time for more than just being busy.

This day will only be here once. Make the time, while you can, to do something unique and memorable and valuable with it.

Certainly there are many, many things you have to do. Make time, each day, to remember why.

Being busy is not the point of life. Make the time, use the time, to be purposeful.

Show your love to someone special, not merely with your words, but with your time. Instead of rushing right past life's beauty, make time to truly enjoy the wonders with which this day is filled.

Make some time that has real and lasting meaning. Make some time, today and every day, to live and appreciate the miracle that you are.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2010 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.

You have life

Even if you have nothing else, you have something more precious than the purest gold, more rare and desirable than the brightest diamond. You have life.

You can sense, you can think and you can reason. You can make decisions and then act on them.

You can make a difference, no matter what. Even if you were to lose everything else, you would still retain the ability to become the person you decide to become and to live in the way you have determined to live.

At times it may seem that the whole world is against you. But that assessment is based on past history, and the past does not equal the future.

That's because you stand solidly in the present. You're able to break free of whatever has happened in the past and to create your future in the way you desire.

Today, in this moment, in this place, you have life, and the countless possibilities it brings. Truly appreciate what you have, and with it you can do spectacular things.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2010 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.

Empty space

On a regular basis, do nothing. Drop your expectations, forget your worries and anxieties, and don't even think about feeling guilty about it.

Everyone alive must have some sleep each day. Just as your body needs the restful period that sleep provides, your mind and spirit benefit from regular restful times as well.

When you read a good book, it is the spaces between the words that enable you to understand each one of those words. In a musical composition, the silence between the notes is just as important as the sound of the instruments.

In whatever you are working to accomplish, be sure to put in some well-placed empty space. Pauses can be just as significant as the most eloquent words, and periods of unproductive rest can be just as useful as periods of strenuous, focused activity.

No, of course you wouldn't want to be lazy and inactive all the time, yet you will benefit from balancing your diligent efforts with peaceful relaxation. The busy times make the restful times more enjoyable, and the restful times make the busy times more productive.

Just because you're not intensely engaged in focused accomplishment doesn't mean that you've stopped moving forward. Devote some time to relaxing and refreshing your spirit, and your efforts will become more effective than ever.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2010 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.

Choose to be happy

If you chase happiness, it will run away faster than you can catch up with it. Why is that?

Because when you strive to create happiness, that very act of striving pushes the happiness away. The more you want it, the less you have of it.

Happiness is not something you can go out and get. Real happiness does not have to depend on creating a certain set of circumstances.

Happiness is a way you can choose to be. And you can simply choose it at any time, in any circumstance.

When you do, you instantly become more creative and effective, more authentic and fully alive. Living from a perspective of happiness, you're able to live at your best because you see positive value everywhere you look.

Stop striving to get happiness and just choose to be happy, right where you are. Give your happiness to life, and watch as its positive power fills your world.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2010 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.

Motivated and enthusiastic

Notice what's wrong just long enough to make yourself aware of it. Then let go, and move on to doing something positive about it.

Instead of dwelling on what is wrong, focus on what you can do to make it right. Challenge yourself to find and to follow the positive perspective that will transform the problem into an opportunity.

Don't get yourself stressed out by obsessing about how bad things are. Get yourself motivated and enthusiastic about what you can do to make a difference.

Step back and observe what you are thinking. Choose to fill your mind with useful, creative, empowering thoughts that will point you in a positive direction.

Let go of the thoughts that just intensify your doubts, fears and worries. Give preference to the thoughts that you can act upon to create new value in your life.

What you see most vividly is where you will go. Focus on the best possibilities and you'll create them in your life.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2010 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 true self

Who have you always been? Who will you always be?

Think of what means more to you than anything else. Think, for a moment, of why.

In your most authentic purpose you will find your most persistent strength. At the center of your being is the purpose that will pull you triumphantly through anything.

If you want to be strong, be you. Be the real you that no circumstance, no twist of fate can diminish.

If you want to be magnificent, be you. The world won't always agree with you, yet life will always reward your authenticity.

Give yourself a moment to feel how truly good it feels to be you. Share your true self with all of life, and spread the joy far and wide.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2010 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.