Creating your life

This is it. This is the moment when success happens.

This is the moment when you can choose to either follow your dreams or to sabotage them. This is when you select and execute the specific actions that create the reality of your life.

Achievement is not some far off, future concept. Achievement is built from what you do now.

You will not ever get anything done if you keep scheduling it for someday. What you do with now is what truly makes a difference in your life.

Remember now, and again and again, that this is where your consequences are determined. This is when you put real life and substance into your dreams.

Enjoy this moment in all its fullness, and remember. You are creating your life right now.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2009 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.

Look

Look out at the world and smile. There is so very much goodness to be found and created and enlarged upon and experienced.

Look into your heart and touch a beautiful dream. Align yourself with a purpose that will compel you to become your very best.

Look around at the details and circumstances of this unique moment, and see the positive possibilities. You are now in a time and place where you can create great value.

Look back at all the good things you've done. And imagine how very much more you can do.

Look at the lives of the people who fill your world. Find new, beautiful, and fulfilling ways to deeply connect with each of them.

Look with wonder and sincere gratitude at all there is. And live the richness of life's best possibilities.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2009 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 it takes

Don't let the difficulties get you down. Let them get you going.

Seize each opportunity to grow stronger and more purposeful. Discover again and again how good it feels to be confident and effective.

The challenges may indeed be great. With your dynamic resourcefulness, your creativity, your focus and persistence, you are greater than any challenge.

You can make a difference now. You can keep doing so for as long as necessary, until your goal is reached.

Feel the unshakable confidence that comes from successfully navigating through a difficult situation. Feel the satisfaction of knowing that you've lifted the world higher through your efforts.

You have what it takes to do what you must. This is your moment to truly shine.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2009 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.

Owning failure

When you fail to get the desired results, what's the first thing you must do? Take credit for it.

If you don't take credit, you don't learn the extremely valuable lesson for which you've just paid dearly. If you don't take credit and own your failures, you'll continue to experience more of them.

Instead, go ahead and take complete credit and ownership of your failures. Because when you take full ownership of your failures, you fully empower yourself to successfully get beyond them.

What you own, you control. When you choose to own your results, then you put yourself in control of those results.

When you own your results, you can decide what those results will be. And they can be whatever you wish to make them.

Admit your failures, take credit for them, embrace them, and own them. When you willingly take responsibility and ownership even for the failures, you're positioned for magnificent success.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2009 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.

Every little thing

Every little thing you do makes a difference. Each action, each word you speak, each thought you think will in some way change things for you and your world.

As you move through life, you are constantly leaving consequences in your wake. The nature of those consequences is what makes up the quality of your life.

Even the smallest things make a difference. And those small things can quickly add up to a big influence.

Your attitude and your outlook on life truly matter. They have a powerful influence over what kind of difference you are making, in the big decisions and the small ones too.

See the world as a beautiful place, filled with positive possibilities. And your actions, your thoughts, your consequences will take on the color of that positive perspective.

Everything, every moment, every person, every stirring in your heart matters. Let yourself love and value life, and be overjoyed at the positive difference that each of your moments can make.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2009 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.

Substance of success

Those who keep talking about how much they've accomplished, haven't accomplished much at all. Those who blame others for their lack of progress, won't ever get very much done.

Those who spend all their time making promises, never get around to following through on those promises. Those who are skilled at finding fault won't ever find a way to create value.

Success happens when you stop talking and start doing. Achievement happens when you stop dealing in promises and start taking action.

Instead of making elaborate, impressive plans, get busy taking small, effective steps. Instead of striving to convince others of what you're going to do, attract their attention and support by virtue of what you've already done.

Make substance your stock in trade. Make real, meaningful value the standard by which you work and live and evaluate your progress.

Put your energy not into appearing impressive, but into getting good, solid, valuable results. For they are what will make an unforgettable, undeniable, positive impression.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2009 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.

Expect and do

Direct, focus and sustain your actions with your expectations. Make your expectations come to life with your actions.

Your efforts are more effective when they're driven by positive expectations. Your expectations exert the most powerful influence when they're backed up by consistent action.

Expectations without actions amount to little more than empty wishes. Actions without specific, positive expectations will fail to achieve the desired result.

Expect the best of yourself and others. Then do what it takes to actually achieve the best.

Let your expectations be the driving, directing force behind your actions. And take the committed, persistent actions that will achieve what you expect to achieve.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2009 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.

Well prepared

When you're well prepared for the challenges, you can actually enjoy working through them. When you enjoy the challenges, you'll be able to create great value.

What can you do today that will make your work tomorrow go more smoothly? Though you may not know exactly what the challenges will be, there is still much you can do to prepare.

Preparation boosts your confidence. Good, solid, thoughtful preparation makes your efforts more effective.

Be well prepared, and your time will be spent moving forward instead of struggling to catch up. Be prepared, and you can effectively deal with small issues before they become big obstacles.

Imagine the possibilities and then prepare yourself for them. That puts you in position to make the best of whatever may happen.

Good preparation magnifies the positive influence of your efforts. Be prepared and everything becomes an opportunity.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2009 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.

Precious time

There are only two dozen hours in this beautiful day. Do you wish to waste any of them on anger or spite or resentment or despair?

Your time is precious and filled with so many valuable possibilities. Choose to spend that time accordingly, ever mindful of its positive potential.

The most highly accomplished people in the world have exactly the same number of hours in this day as you do. Feel the very real opportunity, and make it count.

Precious time is yours, right here, right now. Put your absolute best into it again and again as it flows through you.

Let your highest purpose leave its mark on each moment. The joys you create continue to accumulate, and never stop shining.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2009 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.

Magnificent garden

Instead of looking for reasons to complain, look for ways to be joyful. When you're not sure what to do, take a long, deep breath and smile a delightful, sincere smile.

Put a little beauty in your thoughts and you'll see much beauty in your world. Think again and again of all that you have to be thankful for.

Peacefully accept what is, and transform it into the best of what can be. Remember that nothing ends up being the way it first seems, because it is all influenced by your own perspective and your own actions.

Enjoy the unexpected twists and turns in your life's adventure. Treasure the experience, the learning, the love and the richness of every little thing.

Make life great by appreciating how great it is. Give each day value by making positive, purposeful use of it.

Small, fragile sprouts of beauty, wonder and abundance spring up in every moment. Love them, nurture them and let them grow into a magnificent garden of your very own design.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2009 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.

Every little step

Look around at all the great accomplishments in your world. Each one, from the most simple to the most complex, was completed one step at a time.

An ambitious goal is nothing more than the joining together of many smaller goals. The small results may not seem like much, yet they are absolutely essential.

For it is upon those small results that the big results are built. And in that fact is a wonderful world of outstanding possibilities.

Do not back away from ambitious goals. Instead, look within them and break them down into small, easily manageable components.

Complex, massive success is nothing more than small, simple success carried out again and again with commitment and focus. As such, no goal is out of reach when you are willing to invest patience and persistence.

Choose your goals based not on how difficult you perceive them to be, but on how much they truly mean to you. When you're fully committed to every little step, anything can be yours.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2009 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.

Find your why

You can do what you think you cannot do. First you must change your thinking.

Most perceived limitations have some basis in fact. Yet every limitation that holds you back is supported in large measure by your assumption that it is a limitation.

By changing your assumptions, you can change the whole landscape of your possibilities. What once were limitations no longer are limitations.

Look at life from the perspective of purpose. Realize that there is a way to successfully express whatever authentic purpose is within you.

If you focus merely on how to get it done, you'll find that many of the paths are blocked. Focus instead on why you must, and you'll open yourself to a new set of workable, accessible and achievable strategies.

What do you think you cannot do? Find your why, and you'll see the way.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2009 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.

Real-life reality

Reflection and meditation certainly have their place, yet much of enlightenment is attained through living. Jump into the world that's filled with confusion and contradiction, challenges and obstacles, and make your way through.

You can learn much by observation and study. However, there are many things you can learn only with experience.

Open yourself to new experiences and you'll be opening yourself to an endless stream of rich and rewarding possibilities. The more you get involved in life, the more you get out of life.

Take on a challenging project, and get your hands dirty dealing with all the details. Make a significant commitment, and then do the work to fully follow through on that commitment.

Though life's texture is sometimes rough, there is great and wonderful richness in that texture. Every day is filled with moments that can each be filled with robust experience.

Get out there, get in there, weave yourself again and again into the vivid fabric of real-life reality. It is there that you will create the sweet fulfillment you seek.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2009 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.

Give it time

It's great to have a sense of urgency. It's not so great to rush through your work so quickly that you do a poor job of it.

Certainly you would like to get it done as soon as possible. Just as important, often even more so, is to get it done right.

Always keep in mind that speed is not the only thing that matters. Pay just as much attention to quality, accuracy and effectiveness.

What you do makes a lasting difference in your world. Give it the time and attention it deserves.

Make good use of your time. Fill it with focused, meaningful, careful and attentive effort.

Steadily work at a sustainable pace. And thoroughly enjoy the success that you are creating in each moment.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2009 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 start

Start each day the way you wish to live it. Take positive control of your thoughts, your actions, your feelings and your attitude before some random occurrence ends up imposing its perspective on you.

Be open to the surprises while also being decisive and focused about what you intend to do. Get a few nice accomplishments under your belt early on, and set an effective, empowering pace for the whole day.

Right away, find some new thing for which to be thankful. Your sincere gratitude will shine its light on the best of the day's possibilities.

When you feel a worry coming, move quickly to transform it into creative action. If it seems that you're beginning to be overwhelmed, focus intently on whatever is most important to you.

While the day is young, decide on some new way that you can make a meaningful difference for others. Then start taking the steps that will make it happen.

Give yourself some real power and effectiveness by beginning each day in a joyfully decisive and lovingly purposeful way. And life grows richer with each passing hour.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2009 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.

Happy for no reason

Be happy to give of yourself, and you'll be happy. Be happy to make the effort, and you'll be happy.

Be happy about working through the challenges, and you'll be happy. Be happy for the opportunity to transform problems into achievements, and you'll be happy.

Happiness does not come when you try to obtain it. Happiness is a quality that you can choose to add to any experience.

Happiness does not come from arranging your circumstances in a certain way. Rather, happiness is a very powerful, effective and delightful way to relate to any set of circumstances.

Be happy to be living this moment. And not only will you be happy, you'll also be creative and effective and purposefully focused.

Choose to add your very own happiness to the ups and downs and ins and outs of life. Be happy for no reason and for every reason, and experience life at its best.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2009 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 power to change your world

Your thoughts can change in an instant. And because of that, your whole outlook can change just as quickly.

Have you ever been feeling down and then suddenly encountered a wonderful, positive surprise? Just like that, the world around you changed from dismal to beautiful.

The only thing that really changed, however, was your thinking. Yet it was more than enough to completely transform the situation.

You have the power to change your world because you have the power to choose your thoughts. Though it may feel difficult, and even impossible, as soon as you do make a change in your thinking you realize how quick and easy and effective it can be.

The most important thing about any situation is the way you decide to think of it. Your thoughts can turn any occurrence into an opportunity, any experience into fulfillment.

At any given moment, what you think of your life determines what you will do with it. Always think the very best, and be it.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2009 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 behind you

When there's something you must do, that you don't want to do, what's the best approach? Though it is certainly counter intuitive, the best approach is to enthusiastically jump in and get it done.

It doesn't serve any useful purpose to focus on how much you detest the task. That just delays the completion and makes you feel even worse.

So just for a little while, for your own benefit, pretend that you're thoroughly enjoying it. Remind yourself that the more you enjoy it, the quicker and more effectively you'll get it done.

In fact, as you make swift progress, you might actually find yourself really, truly enjoying it. After all, you'll definitely feel great when you have it done.

Choose not to needlessly punish yourself with resentment. Instead, reward yourself with discipline, focus and achievement.

Select a positive, powerful attitude about the task at hand. Before you know it, you'll have it behind you.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2009 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 the living

The answer to your problems is not in some quick solution. The answer is in the living of your life in a positive, meaningful way.

The joy you seek is not in some particular, momentary pleasure or acquisition. The joy is in the living of the precious moments of your life as they come.

The wisdom you desire is not in some sudden, brilliant insight or revelation. The wisdom is in the living and the learning, in the triumphs and disappointments, in the pain and the love.

The value of life is not in any single possession or experience or feeling. The value of life is in the living.

So do not grasp or worry or boast or envy or waste your time trying to second-guess life. Simply live this now moment with all the love and energy and gratitude and awareness you can give.

Life is in the living. And here on this very day is your golden opportunity to fully taste the rich abundance.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2009 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.

Quiet enthusiasm

Sometimes enthusiasm shouts loudly and is very obvious. Yet many times enthusiasm works quietly, diligently and effectively behind the scenes to make great things happen.

Both kinds of enthusiasm are valid and powerful. Both kinds of enthusiasm can change life for the better.

Noisy, flashy enthusiasm commands great attention and makes many promises. Quiet enthusiasm follows through and fulfills those promises.

You don't have to be loud and boisterous to be enthusiastic. You can be just as enthusiastic and committed by being fully and yet quietly engaged in getting the work done.

Outer actions may be a sure sign of enthusiasm, yet they are not where enthusiasm comes from. Enthusiasm originates in the authentic passion that lives deep within you.

Explore, understand and feel that passion. And express enthusiasm in your own very special way.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2009 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.

Point the way

Dream big dreams, and set magnificent goals that take your breath away. When the going gets rough, the small, relatively meaningless goals are too easy to abandon.

The big, authentic dreams, on the other hand, will compel you to move forward. They give you solid reasons to work persistently through whatever challenges may come.

You can choose which dreams to follow. So make those dreams big enough to overpower any difficulty.

Make them dreams that faithfully express who you truly are. Make them dreams that resonate perfectly with your highest vision of the best that life can be.

When you get knocked down by disappointment, it's important to have a dream that will compel you to get right back up. When obstacles block your path, be sure that you're carrying a dream that will show you the view from a higher perspective.

Move constantly toward the best you can imagine. Hold on to those dreams that point the way there.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2009 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.

Know you can

It's great to believe you can accomplish some particular thing. It is far more powerful, however, to know you can.

When you merely believe, there is still room for doubt. When you know, there is no doubt at all.

How do you go from belief to knowing? You must put that belief into action.

Go ahead and take the first small step in the direction of your goal. Feel how it feels and know what it's like to actually accomplish what you have chosen to accomplish.

With thinking and planning and strategizing, you believe. With experience, you know.

Get yourself some real live experience in moving toward your goal. Once you know you can, you will.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2009 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.

Welcome criticism

When you are sincere in your efforts, you have nothing to fear from criticism. For when you are sincere, criticism can make you stronger and more effective.

Listen eagerly to those who disagree with you. Seek to genuinely understand their perspectives.

Don't get caught up in the need to prove you are right. Focus instead on more fully understanding what is true, what is workable, and what is best for everyone.

The willingness to be open to criticism is one of the surest signs that you're on a successful and authentic path. If you feel the need to avoid or evade or ignore your critics, it may well be time to re-evaluate your efforts.

Intelligently responding to the doubts of others will reduce your own doubts and help your confidence grow. From the criticism, you can gain much valuable and useful information.

Welcome the criticism, and respond with sincere gratitude. Being challenged is one of the most enriching experiences you can have.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2009 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 life great

There are endless ways to become more efficient, yet there is no way to shortcut this fundamental fact. You cannot possibly get more from life than what you put into it.

You can be very clever and think up all sorts of ways to cheat. What you end up doing, though, is cheating yourself most of all.

If you run or hide from the challenges, life's greatest rewards will never find you. When you avoid the difficulties, you also miss out on the fulfillment.

For it is in making a difference that you make a life. It is by working through the challenges that you build real and meaningful value.

Your success is up to you. Think about that, and you'll see that you really wouldn't want it any other way.

Accept that life can be difficult at times. It is through that acceptance that you are truly able to make life great.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2009 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.

Immediate action

When you decide to do it, begin to do it. Give substance to your commitment by acting on it right away.

Intention is powerful, and yet there's something your intention must have in order to survive. That something is real, solid action.

Make your choice, and then immediately give power to it by taking the first step toward it. There is always something you can do right away.

When you act, you seal the commitment. When you act, you create momentum.

The way to make sure you stay in motion is to get yourself in motion right away. When the reason for your decision is still fresh in your mind, give power to that decision by acting on it.

Accomplishment occurs when you go beyond merely thinking about it. Get up, get going, get moving and you will indeed get it done.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2009 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.

Driving desire

What is the most important thing you must contribute to your own success? It is the persistent and prevailing desire to make that success happen.

The things you don't know can be learned. The resources necessary can be found and acquired.

Yet if there is no driving desire, then the knowledge and the resources will be of no use. Real, unique, meaningful desire is what will make success happen and is what will make it worthwhile.

Complex systems, vast networks and powerful machines can accomplish much. Yet they cannot figure out what to accomplish.

That is your special area of expertise. You are able to feel the tug of desire and then find ways to express and fulfill those desires.

Listen intently to your authentic desires, and dive into the heart of them. Find the value that you can give to all of life, and make it happen.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2009 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.