Times of great consequence

Is there something that has you troubled, concerned or discouraged? That very same situation can just as realistically cause you to be hopeful and encouraged and positively successful.

The future has not happened yet, and the way it will unfold is completely open. Where there is the possibility for defeat and failure there is also the possibility for success and improvement.

Where much is at risk of being lost, there is much that can be gained. Times of great consequence are times of great opportunity.

Just imagine what would happen if you could turn your perspective around. Just imagine it, and know that's precisely what you can do.

You can make the decision to create the most positive outcome. You can make the commitment to focus the energy of the situation in a creative and productive direction.

Instead of turning your eyes away from the difficulty, open your eyes to the powerful opportunity. Choose to envision your own best outcome, then choose to do whatever is necessary to make it happen.

-- 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.

Do better

What makes disappointment so disappointing is that you know you can do better. So instead of sinking too far into the disappointment, get up, get going, and do better.

The very feeling you have that life can be better is proof positive that it can be. What you're feeling is your most positive vision of how life can be, calling to you.

Answer that calling, quickly and decisively. Make something good and positive and valuable out of the setbacks that have disappointed you so.

Use your experience to get better, to do better, to become more effective, to become more determined and committed. Feel the certainty that you can do better, and let it energize and animate your actions.

Even when you've done great, the great thing is, you can do better. Always there is the opportunity to do better.

Do all that you know you can do to take that opportunity. And with each experience, with each passing moment, you do indeed make life better.

-- 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.

Live in a beautiful world

Life is so robustly interconnected that you cannot possibly know all the consequences of the actions you take. What you can know for sure is that even the small things you think, say and do will have a big influence on your world.

You are far more powerful than you will ever realize. So it is important to always make positive use of that power.

Even the little things you do can end up changing the world. So even when it doesn't seem to matter much at all, be sure to do your very best.

Live each moment authentically, true to your highest values. You cannot deceive the massive connected web that is life, so be as honest and sincere as you can.

What you do, what you think, and what you say all goes out from you, and the farther it spreads, the bigger it gets. Then, much of it comes back to you, even though you may not recognize it.

If you wish to live in a beautiful world, be beautiful yourself, without ceasing, and create that world. It all matters very much, so do it all with great love and positive purpose.

-- 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 again

You have chosen every thought, every feeling, every response and every action. Now you have the opportunity to choose again.

If you're completely satisfied with where you are, keep making the same choices that have brought you here. If you prefer to experience more valuable, fulfilling results, then make more positive, appropriate choices.

Any outcome is within your power to create because any choice is within your power to make. The priorities you choose determine the realities you get.

Every moment of every day you are exerting a powerful and effective influence on your world. Whether that influence is positive or negative depends entirely on the choices you make.

Not only can you choose, you can learn from what you choose and continually improve the quality of your choices as you make more and more of them. Because you're able to learn and adapt, nothing you truly desire is out of your reach.

So look deep within and become familiar with your most authentic desires. Then commit to making the choices that will fulfill every one of them.

-- 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.

Creative energy

Worry is a misuse of your amazing creative energy. Think of what would happen if instead of wasting it on worry, you used all that creative energy to imagine positive outcomes in your life.

There is no limit to what you can imagine, and there are no restrictions on the kinds of things you can imagine. Your imagination is filled with precisely the things you choose to imagine.

If you have nothing better to imagine, it can be much too easy to imagine all sorts of disastrous scenarios. But it doesn't have to be that way.

With just a little bit of initiative you can plant positive and empowering seeds in your imagination. And in the fertile realm of your powerful imagination, those seeds will grow ever stronger in their beneficial influence.

Even a negative experience can set off a positive chain of thoughts in your imagination, when you so choose. It's really just as easy and realistic to imagine solving a problem as it is to worry about being overwhelmed by that problem.

When you feel worry coming on, always remember that you have another choice. As long as you're imagining elaborate scenarios, you might as well imagine the very best.

-- 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.

Right here

You are right where you should be at this moment. Now it is time to move on to what is next.

Whether your life up to this point has been easy or whether it has been difficult, you are here just the same. And your destiny does not care about your past.

There are plenty of reasons why you find yourself here at this time. What matter much more, though, are the reasons you now have for moving forward.

As good as they have been, your triumphs of the past are now little more than pleasant memories. As painful as they once were, your past failures are now behind you.

Do you realize how completely free you are at this very moment? Do you understand that the main thing holding you back is your belief that something is holding you back?

Today is your opportunity to fully taste that freedom and to finally get beyond the limits you've imposed on yourself. Reach inside, touch your most compelling purpose, and bring your best possibilities 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.

Pure joy

Look closely at the world around you and see beauty in every direction. Listen to the harmony and rhythm of life's sounds.

Give yourself the powerful, refreshing and energizing gift of pure joy. Give yourself a moment, or even longer if you wish, and just feel the incomparable joy of being alive.

Feel the warmth of bright sunshine, the coolness of running water, the rush of a breeze on your skin. Take a long, deep relaxing breath of fresh air.

Experience the overwhelming richness and wonder of the beautiful reality that spreads out in every direction. Let go of any expectations, judgments or analyses, and allow yourself to peacefully experience it all as it comes to you.

For a little while, set aside your planning, organizing, adjusting and responding, and give yourself time to simply experience and enjoy. The moments spent in pure enjoyment, free of guilt, anxiety or expectations, will add richness to your life in ways that nothing else can.

Take some time to let yourself experience pure, unconditional joy. Bring more fully to life the joyful treasure that is life itself.

-- 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.

Not too late

It's never too late to richly live the moment you're in. Don't let regrets about the past destroy the unique opportunity you have right now.

Do you feel frustrated by your lack of progress? Then tap into the energy of that frustration to bring yourself fully to life in this moment that you now have to work with.

Today, you are more experienced and knowledgeable than you've ever been. Today, you can be more motivated than ever before to reach in and connect with your own special goodness.

And today you can put all of what you have into making real and positive progress. Today you can connect in a new and fulfilling way with what matters most.

You've already made an amazing journey to get to this moment. You've brought yourself here for a reason, so let yourself live that reason.

Make life the best it can be right now by doing something truly meaningful with it. Whatever you've come through, wherever you've been, it is never too late to feel the beautiful joy of being alive and making 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.

The courage of fulfillment

When you make a habit of expecting the best, you will occasionally be disappointed. Though it is a risk, it's a risk that's well worth taking.

The alternative to being occasionally disappointed as a result of your high expectations is to be continually unfulfilled. Which would you rather have?

Everyone has the ability to live a fulfilling life. Unfortunately, many people fail to summon the courage to do so.

Working to fulfill your most profound desires is a risky thing because it opens you up to the possibility of disappointment. Sometimes it might seem attractive to simply lower your expectations and avoid the disappointment, but it doesn't work that way.

Sure, when you choose to expect the best, you risk being disappointed from time to time. However, when you expect nothing good from life, you put yourself in a state of continual disappointment that can eventually lead to intractable regret.

Go ahead, acknowledge and accept the fact that your high expectations will sometimes result in disappointment. Remind yourself that when those disappointments come, you can raise your expectations even higher, moving forward with more energy and determination 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.

Smile at life

No matter what else you have or do not have, you have the beautiful experience of life. No matter what may have happened before, or what might come next, you have this moment.

Now is when you can make it count. Now is when you are connected with unbounded opportunities to make a positive difference.

Don't waste your time complaining about what you lack or worrying about what you might lose. Invest the best of what you have in this moment to create new value.

If you choose to be annoyed or resentful, you'll only drag yourself down. Instead, challenge yourself to be more positive and effective than you've ever been, right now.

Smile at life, even when life has not smiled at you first. Be the first one to initiate goodness, and you'll be the first one to benefit from that goodness.

You are here, and there is nothing to fear. Count your blessings, and before you're finished counting you'll have even more.

-- 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 deserve

You deserve the best in life. And you deserve the experience of creating it.

You are worthy of a life that's rich and filled with meaning. And you are worthy of working through the difficult challenges to make that life a reality.

At any given moment, including this moment right now, you are fully deserving of life's greatest experiences. It is never too early and it is never too late to fully feel how it feels to be uniquely alive.

You deserve to be extraordinarily happy in your own special way. And you deserve to realize and to understand that you are the only person who can choose to let that happiness flow.

You deserve to find the strength within yourself to triumph over difficult challenges. You deserve to feel the sense of accomplishment that comes from a job well done.

You deserve whatever you truly desire and whatever you most authentically imagine. Get busy now, with a love of the possibilities, and give yourself what you deserve.

-- 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.

Difficult is not impossible

Difficult is not the same as impossible. Indeed, the very fact that something is difficult confirms that it is possible.

Whatever is difficult to achieve, can be achieved. Whatever is difficult to reach, can be reached with effort, with time, with commitment and persistence.

Difficulty does not stand in the way of achievement. Difficulty in fact provides a path to that achievement.

In addition, difficulty gives real value to achievement. Those goals that are the most difficult and time-consuming to reach are also the most desirable and rewarding to reach.

Giving up because the task is too difficult is like quitting a job because you're being paid too much. When you're on to something that's difficult and demanding, you're on to something with great potential.

Be willing to embrace what is difficult. And you'll open your life to the best of what is possible.

-- 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 so

Some days it may seem that your actions are not very effective. Even so, the best thing you can do is to keep doing all you can.

Sometimes it may feel that although you care deeply about the world, the world does not care much about you. Even so, it is much better that you continue to care.

There will be times when you give all you have, and end up with nothing to show for it. Keep giving though, for the rewards are surely there, even if they are too profound for you to see just yet.

The disappointments may sometimes be so painful that you feel like giving up. Remember though, it is your caring that makes the disappointment possible, and that very same caring will pull you up and push you forward.

Though you may be reluctant to admit it, you can make any situation into a valuable, successful experience. You can live with love, joy and fulfillment even when everything seems to be pushing against you.

The circumstances of this moment may not feel particularly desirable. Even so, there is a beautiful treasure that's yours to give, and yours to live in this very place, on this very day.

-- 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.

Let go of limiting beliefs

You have the power to change your life. You have the power to change the world.

You can take action, you can make a difference, and you can respond in a positive, creative way to any situation. You can do whatever must be done to live the life of your dreams.

Yet in order to do so you must first believe that you can. In order to do so you must let go of the limiting beliefs you use to hold yourself back.

Each limiting belief you have is nothing more than a thought that lives in your mind. It is a thought that has power only as long as you continue to hold on to it.

What do you believe you cannot do? Though it may be a comfortable and familiar part of your life, that belief is constantly working against you.

Just as you have chosen to hold that limiting belief, you can choose to let it go. One by one, let go of your limiting beliefs, and free yourself to make the very most of every 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.

Uniquely valuable

You have made it through what has come before, and you can make it through what is yet to come. Every day brings more experience, and each experience brings new strength.

You have moved beyond more obstacles than you can remember. That's given you what it takes to move through the ones that are now appearing on your horizon.

Feel your doubts, feel your fears, and explore your concerns. Learn from them, adjust your approach, and then move on ahead.

With each new joy and with each new disappointment, life is calling you to make it better than it's ever been. With each new day, with each new challenge comes your opportunity to add your own special flavor of richness to life.

Whatever has already happened, you can find a way to quickly be at peace with it. Whatever comes along, you can find a way to make the very best of it.

Remind yourself often of how uniquely valuable each moment is. And choose to fully live every bit of that value.

-- 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.

Celebrate abundance

Good fortune is measured not merely by what you have. Life's true fortune arises from what you have the opportunity to become, to create, to give and to experience.

Celebrate life's limitless abundance by making a positive, meaningful difference in your world. Feast upon life's delicious richness by allowing genuine, unrestrained joy and thankfulness to flow out from you.

Celebrate life's abundance by doing something new and unique and beautiful and loving with it all. Reach within, feel the miraculous reality of who you truly are, and delight in giving the best of yourself to life.

Shine the bright light of joy and thankfulness on all that is around you. Even the biggest problems are no match for the positive possibilities that fill your life.

Feel how good it feels when your joy spreads to others. Live the abundance of bringing your positive, meaningful purpose to life in each moment.

Let go of the doubts, let go of the fears, let go of the inhibitions and feel how good it feels to be authentically and fully alive. Celebrate the priceless abundance that is 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.

Laugh at every excuse

The easiest thing in the world is to come up with an excuse for not taking action. No matter what the situation, there's always an excuse that sounds perfectly reasonable and that can provide you with permission to do nothing.

Rarely does it help to fight against the excuses, because that just leads to even stronger and more compelling excuses. So how do you get around them?

Connect with a dream that is bigger than any excuse could possibly be. Grab hold of a dream that's so compelling it makes you laugh at every possible excuse.

If your goal is to do what you don't really want to do anyway, even the weakest excuse can stop you cold. If, however, your goal is tied to an authentic, personally meaningful dream, that's a completely different situation.

And that makes perfect sense. Because if it doesn't really matter to you anyway, there's not much point in spending your precious time on it.

Choose instead to live the beautiful, meaningful dreams that you truly desire to live. And no setback, no challenge, no excuse will have the power to even slow you down.

-- 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 thought away

You are one thought away from being supremely and authentically confident. You are one thought away from stepping powerfully, effectively and decisively in the direction of your dreams.

With just one positive, empowering thought, you can turn toward achievement, toward excellence, toward discipline and commitment. From nothing more than a thought that resonates with your true purpose, you can change your perception of the whole world.

Reach into the place within, where you nurture your vision of the very best life you can imagine. With all you have, with all you are, feel the beautiful reality of that vision.

And know that whatever you can imagine, whatever you can feel, you can create. In fact, it already exists within you.

Feel within yourself the reality of life as you know it can be. Then, with your words, your actions, your priorities and commitments, with your focus and discipline, express that beautiful, meaningful value.

In every moment, in every circumstance, through every challenge, let that immense value flow out from you. It is never more than just one thought away.

-- 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 limitless power of being

Give in to the beauty and completeness that is now. Let go of your complaints about what should or should not be, and embrace the fullness of what is.

Now, you are whole. Now, you are present and aware and entirely alive.

Accept what is, without condition or judgment. Feel the limitless power of being.

In the perspective of now, excuses have no meaning. Worries make no sense and have no power, so they fall effortlessly away.

Feel the connection to all that is now. See that now there is nothing you need.

Let now be now and let yourself peacefully know it. Live the ever-unfolding miracle of what is, now.

-- 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.

Build a future

The more you take action, the more good things you'll have coming your way. You'll come across more and better opportunities, learn more things, and become more skilled at getting the results you want.

Yes, you're going to make mistakes, and you'll regularly need to adjust your approach. But that's no reason to avoid action.

In fact, that's a good reason to get started as soon as possible. If you're going to make mistakes, it's better to get out there, get the mistakes over with, and learn from them.

Don't sit around wondering and worrying about what might happen. Use your own actions and your own energy to determine what will happen.

Don't sit around building a list of complaints and regrets. Instead, take real, focused action and build a positive, fulfilling future for yourself.

Figure out what you want to create, where you want to go, what you want to experience, and who you want to become. Then get yourself in action and keep moving in the direction you've chosen.

-- 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.

Born to achieve

Where there is a problem, there is a potential achievement. Where there is a challenge, there is the possibility for triumph over that challenge.

Moving forward in life is all about creating new value. And the biggest obstacles in your path give you the biggest opportunities to create that value.

If you have no problems, that's nice. If you have many problems, that's even better because you also have many pathways to success and fulfillment.

Working through those problems is not easy, but then easy is overrated. A life of meaning and fulfillment is infinitely preferable to a life of useless ease.

Indeed, you have a driving desire to be useful in your own unique way. You have a driving desire to make a meaningful positive difference, and you're well-equipped to do so.

Embrace the challenges with enthusiasm and positive expectation, and put your own special capabilities to work. You are born to achieve, and this is your opportunity to claim your magnificent birthright.

-- 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.

Touch the purpose

In this moment, life is unfolding in a new and beautiful way. Can you see it?

In this moment, there is a special goodness. Can you feel it?

On this day, your dream is speaking to you. Can you hear it?

Right now, you have something more precious than anything you can imagine. Right now, you have life and you have the opportunity to live it in your own special way.

Let go of the needs you've surrounded yourself with. And let life's richness fill your awareness.

Taste the beauty, feel the possibilities and touch the purpose that lives within. Find new ways to experience sweet fulfillment simply by being you.

-- 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.

Filled with joy

How do you keep yourself filled with joy? Give it away every chance you get.

Every encounter is an opportunity to add richness to your own life and to someone else's life. Make the most of those opportunities.

When you don't feel like being joyful, that's when it will make the biggest difference. When you don't feel like smiling, that's when a smile will feel the best.

Joy is always there to experience and to share, when you simply let it come. Go ahead, let it come now, and again, and again.

The better you feel, the more effective you'll be at everything you do. Feel how good it feels to let the joy inside flow out from you.

Feel the goodness as that joy 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.

Promote your wish to a dream

How do you know if your dream is big enough? If you're working steadily and enthusiastically in the direction of that dream every day, it's big enough.

But what if your dream is not compelling enough to constantly motivate you forward no matter what? Then it's really more of a wish, and not much use to you at all.

If that's the case, consider making it bigger and more meaningful. Promote it from a wish to a true, life-changing dream.

When the obstacles and challenges are great, make sure your dream is even greater. In those situations when you must push forward, it is essential to have something truly meaningful to push toward.

If you live just to get through the day, you'll end up doing it over and over again with nothing much to show for your efforts. Choose instead to dream big dreams, and get real fulfillment from your time and effort.

You can wish for what might be nice, and you'll probably be disappointed. Instead, reach deep inside, truly dream of how good you know life can be, and make that dream so big you absolutely must 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.

Make life magnificent

Don't merely seek to do it. Get busy working on it.

Don't just think about it, or talk about it, or plan for it, or wish you could have it done. Make the effort right now to make it happen.

Are you unsure about how to get started or what the next step should be? The fact is that you can never be sure, so go ahead and do what your heart tells you to do.

Are you worried about making mistakes or looking foolish or wasting your time? Just remember that the biggest waste of time, the most foolish looking mistake, is to sit around worrying and doing nothing.

There is immense value in the unique person you are. Every moment of every day is an opportunity for you to live and express that value in ways that will astound the world and fulfill your spirit.

So what are you waiting for? Get motivated, get focused, get serious, get up, get going, get out there and make life as magnificent as you know it can be.

-- 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.

Reward yourself

There is much you have already done, and there is much more that remains to be done. Take a little break, and remember how truly fortunate you are.

Yes, your task is difficult and complicated, frustrating at times and tedious at other times. By doing it, however, you are making a difference, and that's a big part of what life is all about.

Give yourself a rest every so often, but don't give yourself an excuse to give up. Remember why you started in the first place, and recommit yourself to getting it done.

Instead of fighting and striving and struggling to get it done, take a moment to take a deep breath and to smile a genuine smile. Take control of your own attitude, and choose to enjoy the work you're doing.

Rather than resenting what you must do, celebrate what you have the opportunity to achieve. Reward yourself for your discipline and persistence by feeling truly good about what you're able to get accomplished.

With every effort, you are creating new value. With every moment, you are moving closer to the goal, and rewarding yourself along the 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.

The opportunity of your life

You have opportunity right now, on this very day, that you'll never have again. Are you going to let it pass you by, or are you going to make full and valuable use of it?

The moments that make up this day are moments you can use to solve problems, to develop more effective ways of doing things, and to create value. The moments that make up this day are moments you can be using right now to move your life forward.

Look around you. See and appreciate what a magnificent world you live in and what a tremendous opportunity you have to make a difference.

Within you are dreams that long to be brought to life. Within you is real, substantive, unique value that deserves to be fully expressed and experienced.

With joy in your heart and enthusiasm in your actions, get up right now and get busy living the best of those dreams. There are dozens of creative, productive, life-enhancing things you can do, so focus on the first one and get busy.

The opportunity of your life is here. Live it with all you have.

-- 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 stronger

When the difficulties come, and pile so high on top of one another that you can't see the way forward, you have a choice. You can choose to give up, or you can choose to get stronger.

You can choose to bury your dreams under impenetrable layers of worry and fear. Or you can choose to make those dreams even more magnificent and compelling so that you cannot resist being pulled forward by them.

You can choose to feel sorry for yourself, or you can choose to feel the power of your true purpose. You can look for who is to blame, or you can look for ways to take full responsibility for the situation.

This is your life, and even the difficult stretches are very much worth living. In fact, it is during the challenging times that you build new capacity for greater richness.

When there is no obvious reason to be positive, choose to be more positive than ever before. Instead of being overwhelmed by the problems, choose to be energized by the positive possibilities hidden within them.

Feel the genuine confidence that comes from knowing you always have a choice. And choose to live the positive value in whatever life may send.

-- 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.

Step into this moment

Instead of obsessing over the problems, you can be working on the solutions. Where you're headed is a much more meaningful concern than where you've been.

Don't be held back by thoughts of what might go wrong. Now is your opportunity to do all you can to make sure things go right.

Choose right now to take life in stride. Remind yourself that you can do just fine with whatever life sends your way.

On the down days, let your dreams pull you up. On the up days, let those dreams push you even faster ahead.

There is goodness in all that's around you. There is some kind of positive value to be found in every experience.

See that goodness, and bring that value to life. Joyfully, confidently step into this beautiful moment and make its new richness your own.

-- 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.

Genuine humility

When you can get free from the demands of your ego, you also free yourself from most of your self-imposed limitations. In practicing genuine humility, you will find enormous power.

Get beyond the desire to control others, and you vastly improve your ability to control your own actions. Let go of the need to be right, and you open yourself to experience new truth.

Get free of the need to blame, and your own sense of responsibility grows stronger. Stop seeking to place judgments on others, and you're free to powerfully improve your own actions.

Give up the thought that you're better than everyone else, and a whole new world of opportunity opens up to you. Stop seeking unfair advantage, and you're free to develop an unstoppable effectiveness.

Quit demanding the most and start expecting the best. You'll experience a level of true abundance that you never before could have imagined.

Live each moment with humility, love, respect and gratitude for the whole of life that surrounds you. And you will find a treasure that has no end.

-- 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.

Getting it perfect

There is often great beauty to be found in imperfection. No tree is perfectly straight, no mountain peak perfectly symmetrical, and yet the world is filled with beautiful mountains, trees and other magnificently imperfect things.

When a friend is hurting, you don't have to put together the perfect combination of words to let that person know you care. All you must do is speak from the heart.

When there is a challenge facing you, it's not necessary to come up with a perfect solution. Effective, focused, appropriate action will do just as well.

It's fine for perfection to be your goal. Just don't let the lack of perfection be an excuse for doing nothing.

There are countless good and valuable things in life that are far short of perfect. In fact, if everything were always perfect, life would not be nearly so interesting.

Certainly you always want to do your best. Just make sure that getting it done takes priority over getting it perfect.

-- 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.

Let today be that day

This is a day filled with possibilities. This is a day when you can get results.

Though conditions may not be perfect, still they are sufficient for you to move forward. Though circumstances may not he ideal, within those circumstances you can most certainly make progress.

What is it that you would like to achieve? What is it that you wish to change, improve upon, create, express or experience?

If you ever want it to happen, now is when you must do something about it. If it is your desire to see it come about, it is your responsibility to make the necessary effort.

Nothing ever gets accomplished someday by somebody. If it is to happen, it must be done on a specific day by a specific person.

Let today be that day. And let yourself be that person.

-- 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 the most out of it

Do what must be done when it must be done, and you'll always be keeping up. Do more than what must be done, before it must be done, and then you'll always be moving ahead.

A little extra effort today can give you a lot of extra advantage tomorrow. Add to that a little more extra effort tomorrow, and the day after that, and soon you'll be way out in front.

The hours and minutes of this day will quickly pass by. While each one is here, you might as well get the very most out of it.

Sure, it can be a little dreary and tedious when you're working to do what must be done. So add some excitement, enthusiasm and passion to your efforts by challenging yourself to do even more.

Go beyond the minimum requirements and find new ways to create maximum value. Instead of just getting by, spend your time and efforts getting great.

Don't be content to merely deal with whatever life hands you. Instead, enthusiastically embrace what comes your way, make the effort and make the commitment to make the very best of it all.

-- 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.

Partnership of success

Success is a partnership between thought and action. One without the other will not get you anywhere.

If you think about what you do and how you'll do it, but do nothing, the result is failure. If you rush into getting it done without putting any thought into it, that will just as surely bring failure.

It's crucial to put some good, solid thinking into what you wish to do. Be careful, though, not to think yourself out of ever getting it done.

Whatever your objective, it's absolutely necessary to take action. Yet it is also vital to take appropriate action that is well thought out.

You can think and you can do. Each is challenging in its own way, and yet every valuable thing you've ever accomplished has utilized these two skills that you most certainly have.

You have what it takes to reach whatever goal you choose. Think and do, then think some more and do some more, and steadily work your way toward success.

-- 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 is enough

Some people always have enough, and other people never have enough. The difference isn't in what they possess, but in what they need.

There are people with warehouses full of possessions who still don't have enough. And there are people with almost no possessions who have plenty.

When you have a strong sense of need, it gnaws at you constantly and pulls you down. That's much different than being confident in having enough and enjoying the peaceful power it brings.

Yes, there are desires you have that are not yet fulfilled. But do not give up control of your fulfillment by diminishing those desires into needs.

Instead of needing what you desire, treasure the desire itself and the opportunity to fulfill that desire. Allow yourself the powerful confidence that comes from having enough, and from that confidence will come even more.

Whatever you have now is enough for now. Joyfully, thankfully, peacefully accept the wholeness and completeness of your present abundance.

-- 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.

Guaranteed success

No one else can guarantee that you will be successful or fulfilled in your life. And that's what makes success and fulfillment so desirable.

If you wish to experience life's true richness, you must make your own way toward it. Others can lead you and guide you and encourage you, yet no one can do it for you.

You are blessed with the magnificent opportunity to express what it means to be alive in your own unique way. The fulfillment of that opportunity, by very definition, must come from you.

The real meaning of accomplishment is not what you get. Accomplishment has value because of what you put into it.

Though no one else can guarantee your success, you can guarantee it by making the commitment to do whatever you must do. You can guarantee it with your intention, your focus, your action and your persistence.

Today, tomorrow, in any place, whatever the situation, you can make a difference, for your own life, and for your world. Grab that opportunity, make the most of it every chance you get, and you'll guarantee your own success.

-- 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.

Live in gratitude

Fear of loss is what creates loss. Love of possibilities is what drives the fulfillment of those possibilities.

What good is it to have something if you constantly live in fear of losing it? In some ways, that's worse than not having it at all.

Instead of living in fear, live in gratitude. Fill your heart with love and thankfulness for all that you now have, so that there is no space left for fear.

Fill your mind with thoughts of the very best of what is possible for your world. Fill your spirit with a bright, sparkling vision of how good you know life can be.

Sure, the superficial things will come and go, so don't let those things define you. Instead, treasure the values that transcend every moment and every circumstance.

The genuine person inside is much more powerful than your ego that always feels so threatened. Live in gratitude and let the real, authentic, courageous person you are, always come shining through.

-- 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.

No limit

There is no limit to how much love your heart can hold. So put a little more love in your life right now.

There is no limit to how much beauty you can admire. So make a point in each moment to see some new beauty you've never noticed before.

There is no limit to how much joy you can experience. So go ahead and feel the joy that lives inside, as you generously let it flow out to the whole world.

There is no limit to kindness, to hope, or to faith. There is no limit to the goodness and value that you can imagine.

Though some things in this world are occasionally in short supply, there is no limit to the best things in life. There is no limit to what really matters.

Treasure those good things that have no limit. For there is no limit to the richness they can bring.

-- 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.

Decide to enjoy

Even the most difficult work feels easy when you let it flow from your heart. You can take on the most complicated and challenging tasks with effortless ease when you let go of your resistance to them.

Do you feel resentment about what you must do? If so, you're only making it more difficult and unpleasant.

Can you choose instead to feel sincere gratitude for the opportunity to get it done? Of course you can, and by so doing you dramatically improve your performance.

If the effort feels disagreeable, that's only because you want it to feel disagreeable. And why exactly would you want that?

Resentment and resistance will only bring you down, and cause you to work longer at doing what you don't want to do. Yet it is always within your power to make a positive change.

Decide to enjoy what you're doing, and just like magic you'll suddenly be doing what you enjoy. Not only that, you'll be doing a much better job of it.

-- 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.

Ignite your passion

Ability is about more than skill. Ability is about more than knowledge.

Though skill and knowledge and experience are important, there's something even more powerful that drives ability. It is passion.

If you do not have a strong desire, fueled by passion, it doesn't really matter how much skill you have. If you lack passion, it doesn't matter how much experience or knowledge you have.

When you are truly passionate, that brings your skills and knowledge to life. When you are truly passionate, even if you lack sufficient skills you will find a way to acquire them.

Passion compels and enables you to connect with whatever is necessary to express and fulfill that passion. Passion pushes you into action, and supplies the energy for perseverance.

What are the things that ignite your passion? It's well worth your time and effort to know exactly what they 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.

Purpose guiding the way

Discouragement comes from worrying about how. Inspiration comes from diving into the rich feeling of why.

When you attempt to work out every detail of every step in advance, it can be confusing and frustrating. To add some powerful clarity, settle on a good, meaningful first step and take it.

Yes, it is important to figure out how you will move forward, and to make realistic plans. Yet you don't have to figure it all out in advance.

Getting started immediately is more important than debating with yourself about exactly how you'll finish. As long as your plans are at least one step ahead of your actions, and as long as you remember why, you'll be able to keep moving ahead.

Your experience in taking the early steps will enable you to more effectively determine and execute the later steps. And in every step along the way, always remember why you have chosen to move forward.

Stay in touch with why, and have faith that your sense of authentic purpose will lead you to the objective you have chosen. Step forward, and with your purpose guiding the way, find the path that takes you 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.

Direction of advance

Today your life will advance. Now is when you can choose the direction of that advance.

On this day, your actions will result in consequences. The specific actions you choose to take will determine exactly what those consequences will be.

Though many events and circumstances come your way, life does not happen to you. Rather, the substance of your life happens through you, because you determine how to respond to those events and circumstances.

Your true priorities are not the ones you merely talk about or admire, but are the ones you actually follow and sustain from one moment to the next. Your life will go precisely where those authentic priorities take you.

In every waking moment of every day, you are accomplishing things and making a difference in your world. Whatever you most consistently focus your thoughts and actions upon, you will create.

In each small moment, you have great power because you can intentionally direct the energy of your life. Choose wisely, with love, faithful to your purpose, and know the fulfillment that you are here to know.

-- 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 masterpiece

You are a highly accomplished artist, creating the ongoing masterpiece of your life. It is a singularly unique work of art that comes to life more richly and more fully in your every moment.

The masterpiece of your life is not the same as any other, and that is what gives it much of its beauty. It is a living, breathing, feeling work of art that is a distinctive and irreplaceable expression of wonder and joy.

As you feel the remarkable reality of yourself, always remember that you transcend every label that could ever be placed on you. Though there are many ways you have been, there are countless other ways that you can yet be.

You are not old or young, not wealthy or poor, not healthy or ill, for those are all merely outward states that you may choose to experience. In fact, you are life itself, and every experience adds to the value and richness.

Just as the darker areas of a painting and the lighter areas play off each other, so too do the varieties of your experience all add to the masterpiece of your life. With each new day, the masterpiece becomes more magnificent.

In this moment, work your art well, letting it flow from your authentic heart. Give your spirit cause to soar, and forever capture the unique beauty of now within the masterpiece that is 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.

Stronger than doubt

Your doubts may feel strong and compelling, yet you are much stronger. After all, you have the ability to take action.

Your doubts require a certain specific scenario in order to make any sense. You, however, can work your way to a whole new scenario in which those old doubts will have no validity.

Every action you take is a triumph over your doubts. Start small if you must, build up to bigger, more consequential actions, and those doubts will surely and steadily fade away.

Your doubts get all of their energy from you. And you don't ever have to give them any more of it.

Instead, put your energy into positive, effective action. Put your energy into dreaming big, wonderful, meaningful dreams, then step forward and act to give those dreams life.

Even the biggest doubts are no match for the power of your passion. Put that passion into action, and leave your doubts 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.

Steadfastness of purpose

Don't base your attitude on how things are. Choose your attitude so that it supports and expresses the way you wish to be.

Events and circumstances swirl around you in a constant state of flux and confusion. Yet those things you perceive and experience do not define who you are.

You are more than the fleeting situations and occurrences in your world. Living within you are the steady values, purposes, intentions and dreams that transcend all the ups and downs playing out around you.

Let your feelings be guided and inspired by the best that's inside you. Don't let those feelings be tossed in every direction by whatever happens to come your way.

There is no end to the number of distractions vying to pull you away from your purpose. Yet there is no good reason to give in to any of those distractions, for each one will soon pass on by.

Live with a steadfastness of positive purpose. Who you truly are, is always much stronger than whatever you might be going through.

-- 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.

Keep yourself in motion

Get moving and keep moving. Put momentum on your side.

Even if you've made some mistakes, learn from them and keep moving. Even if you've been disappointed, transform that disappointment into determination and keep moving.

To be more creative, innovative and effective, get yourself in motion and keep yourself in motion. When you're constantly and willingly stepping forward to meet each challenge, you create a powerful positive momentum.

Get yourself moving quickly and consistently. Keep yourself moving so those things that normally drag you down won't be able to keep up with your progress.

Action is a great way to overcome doubt. Put your energy into action and you won't have the time or the inclination for doubt.

Even making just a little progress is massively better than making no progress at all, and all those small advances will soon combine to form a major achievement. Keep yourself in motion and you'll get yourself to exactly where you want to go.

-- 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 opportunity of right now

Opportunity, when combined with effort, brings achievement. Now is when you have the opportunity and now is when you can make the effort.

Each moment opens up new possibilities for creating value that can remain in your life long after the moment is gone. Now, on this day, in this place, is one such powerful moment.

You could let this day simply pass on by, and take with it all its valuable opportunities. Or, you can get busy and make something of those opportunities.

Sure, you can come up with perfectly reasonable excuses for not taking action. Yes, you can let the disappointments and frustrations stop you.

Or, you can choose to act on the unique, valuable opportunities that are in front of you right now. Before the value of this day passes you by, you can take hold of that value and make it a permanent part of your life.

The opportunities of right now are powerful and valuable, but only if you choose to act on them while they are here. Reach inside, connect solidly with your dreams, let those dreams motivate you to take action, and make the efforts that will bring those dreams 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.

Making fears insignificant

Fear is possible only when you forget how much power you really have. Fear takes up those spaces in your world that you have neglected to fill with love and positive possibility.

You don't have to fight the fear. You don't have to let the dark clouds of dread and anxiety cast their crippling shadows over your life any longer.

Instead, allow love to fill your awareness. Give in to that beautiful longing you feel to be fully and authentically you.

Give your life's energy to your highest hopes, desires, dreams and positive possibilities. Then your fears will naturally recede into insignificance.

With your mind and your spirit at peace, your thoughts and actions are free to be strong, focused and effective. You'll unleash the ability to create value and richness in your world.

The positive possibilities are truly without limit. Imagine them, allow them to inspire you, and turn your attention toward fulfilling the best of them.

-- 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.

Happiness within

Happiness is first found within. But that doesn't mean it must stay there.

Feel the happiness that springs from your own beautiful essence. Then multiply that happiness by sharing it far beyond you.

The beauty of life is in your ability to see it and appreciate it and find joy in it. Allow your own happiness and you make the world a happy and beautiful place.

Don't waste your effort searching for a reason to be happy. Don't conjure up excuses that give you permission to avoid your own happiness.

Just let go of your resistance and let that happiness be. Feel how good it feels, and tap into the positive, effective power that comes from feeling so right.

Delight in the happiness within as you allow it to flow out from you. And let life experience itself in a new and beautiful 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.

Understanding why

If you have the desire but lack the skill, the strength of your desire will push you to develop whatever skill you must have. But if you have skill and no desire toward which to use it, that skill won't do you any good.

The desire to achieve is what drives achievement. Other factors are important, yet without sufficient desire the achievement will not happen.

Before you focus on how you will do it, be sure you're clear about why you must do it. Before you gather the tools and resources, gather your thoughts and feelings about exactly what purpose you intend to fulfill.

Competence and effectiveness come from knowing what and how. The driving energy to persist comes from understanding why.

You must have passion to successfully work through all the obstacles that stand in your way. And that passion comes from purpose.

The most fundamental necessity of any undertaking is to understand why. Once you know why, the power of your purpose will put all the other pieces into place and bring the achievement 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.

Naturally positive

Taking a positive approach to life will bring many rich rewards. Yet forcing yourself to be positive is not the way to get there.

Forcing yourself to be positive is not being positive. Fighting against negativity is not being positive.

When you merely try to be positive, your focus is on the trying and not on any actual positive substance. The very act of trying to be positive is a clear sign that you're not.

Instead, allow yourself to be naturally positive by experiencing, in your mind or in your world, what you truly love. Let go of the striving and let love be.

If positive thinking is just another item on your list of things to do, it won't bring you any real value. Instead of making it a chore to be positive, just give it room and reason to easily and naturally grow within you.

Seek less judgment and feel more joy. Be naturally positive and authentically empowered.

-- 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 stuck

You are capable of much more than just getting by. You have it in you to prosper and to triumph.

If you feel stuck where you are, that means your dreams haven't been big enough or meaningful enough to push you persistently forward. Use that uncomfortable feeling of being stuck as motivation to expand and to solidly connect with your most authentic dreams.

Take full responsibility for what you've done and for where you are. Then take full responsibility and make the commitment to fulfill your most valuable and treasured possibilities.

Painful circumstances and periods of misfortune can be very difficult, but they're not what have held you back. What has held you back is that you've chosen to ignore or discount your most compelling reasons for moving forward.

If you feel stuck, that means you are ready. That means you know deep within that you must do whatever it takes to bring your dreams to life.

Reach inside, touch your true dreams, feel your authentic purpose, and step boldly forward. There's no reason to be stuck for one moment longer.

-- 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.

Subjective reality

If you're having a difficult day, is it the day itself that's difficult? No, it is the way you perceive and interpret the events of the day that make it feel so difficult.

Remember that you can always change your perception. You can always choose the way you interpret and respond to whatever happens in your world.

Those who make a habit of achieving great things operate within exactly the same objective reality as everyone else. What sets achievers apart is a more positive, empowering subjective reality that they create with their own perceptions.

Much of what happens in the world is out of your control. Yet all of what you do about whatever happens is yours to choose, to direct and to perform as you please.

Decide to see yourself as empowered by events, and you will naturally take empowering, effective actions. Focus your subjective reality around the values and goals that are truly meaningful to you, and through that reality you can employ those values to achieve those goals.

Look at life with a positive, purposeful perspective. And make reality work for you.

-- 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.

Live life now

The joy and fulfillment you seek, are here now for you to experience. If you are not fully present in this moment, when will you ever be?

Don't waste another minute by waiting for conditions to improve. The opportunity to live the best day of your life is here and now.

Embrace this moment just as it is, and taste its richness. Step confidently forward just as you are, and fully live life now.

Obsessing over what could have been or what should have been won't bring you any value. Following your positive purpose in this moment is what will create value.

You are now free from all the limitations you had imposed on yourself in the past. You can now see your best possibilities and act to fulfill them.

There is so much richness right here and now. Open yourself to the beautiful experience that is yours to fulfill.

-- 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.

Actions take over

Doubt is a gateway to fear. A small, trivial doubt, repeated again and again, and considered from many different angles, can soon grow into a nearly insurmountable fear.

Doubt can be very reasonable, yet it's not a good idea to reason with it. For whether you argue against your doubt or whether you argue for it, in both cases you make that doubt stronger.

Instead, simply notice your doubts, and then quickly move on. If you have the thought that you can't do something, allow that thought for a moment and then get busy proving it wrong with your actions.

Doubts are born in your thoughts, and as you dwell on them they grow more influential in your mind. So stop thinking of why you can't and start taking action to show how you can.

One small positive action is much more powerful than the most elaborately constructed doubt. Because once you do something, you absolutely know you can, and doubt has no way to stand up to certainty.

Whatever it is you doubt you can do, begin to do it. And watch the doubt quickly dissolve into meaninglessness as your actions take over.

-- 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.

Step into the challenge

The more you do, the more you're able to do. Your abilities grow stronger as you use them, so your best strategy is to get busy and use them.

The feeling that you cannot do something is often powerful, and can feed upon itself. The way to get beyond it is with action.

Any project you contemplate may at first seem overwhelming. That's understandable, because you haven't even taken the first step.

Once you take that first step, though, the challenge begins to feel more manageable. As soon as you actually begin the effort, you also begin to get better at doing it.

When the mountain is in the distance, it's difficult to imagine how you could climb it. Once you're on the path up the mountain, though, you'll always be able to easily see the next step and take it.

Go ahead and begin the effort. Amaze yourself by discovering how very much you can do.

-- 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 inner self

Nothing will be of any use to you unless you have the capacity within yourself to know it and accept it. Peace, love, beauty, success and fulfillment have meaning to you only when they have meaning within you.

It is by knowing yourself that you can know all else. It is through nurturing love and goodness within you that you can experience love and goodness in the world around you.

To be at peace with the way things are, be at peace with the way you are. To be confident in the affairs of the world, nurture confidence within the stillness of your inner self.

The reality that matters is the reality that has meaning and resonance within you. What you see, what you experience, and what you live, all come from who you are.

If you feel that something is missing in your life, turn inward. Find and nurture it there.

Make a beautiful place for yourself within yourself. Then let that beauty flow out through all that is.

-- 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.

Feel the purpose

There are times when nothing can hold you back. Imagine making today one of those times.

There are moments when you're able to focus with absolute clarity and act with maximum effectiveness. You can make this moment one of those moments.

What makes the critical difference that creates those times of optimum performance? What makes the difference is a clear and unambiguous connection to purpose.

When you're doing what you know is right, your natural ability to achieve becomes fully engaged. It pulls you successfully through whatever challenges you may encounter.

The way to make this day a day of spectacular achievement is to connect your actions with authentic positive purpose. Keep yourself aware of the good, solid meaningful reason behind what you do, and you'll do it with outstanding effectiveness.

Nothing can hold you back when the actions necessary to move forward are connected to the very essence of who you are. Feel the real purpose behind what you seek, and you will surely make it so.

-- 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.

Solidly on your way

You may be tired, or discouraged, or frustrated, or uncomfortable. No matter what, your best option is to move positively forward.

Hanging on to past disappointments will only hold you back. Taking comfort in being a victim gives you no real comfort at all.

Staying safe by never venturing out, by never taking risks, is the riskiest thing you can do. Because it guarantees that you won't get anything accomplished.

It takes effort to move forward, as well as courage and determination. Fortunately, you are filled with courage and determination, and you are able to make whatever effort you choose.

Yes, you may feel some fear and trepidation, yet courage is not the lack of fear. Your courage gives you the ability to feel your fear, to listen to what it has to say, to allow it to prepare you, and to move ahead.

You know what you desire and you know why you desire it. Set your sights on the goal, and know that you're solidly on your way toward its achievement.

-- 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.

Living inspiration

Certainly you can inspire others with your words. Yet you can inspire other people even more with the way you live.

By skillfully arguing and presenting your beliefs, you can convince others to consider adopting those beliefs. Yet you can express those beliefs even more convincingly by consistently applying them to your life.

With what you say, you can get some attention. With what you do, again and again, you can build real and lasting credibility.

If you wish to lift others up, the first step is to bring your own life to a higher level. Then you can bring along as many other people as you wish.

It's not selfish to follow your own authentic dreams and to create a life for yourself that's the best you can imagine. For in doing so, you also create outstanding opportunities along the way to be of real, meaningful service to others.

Your life has unique and immense value. Share that value far and wide by living your dreams and making your life a true inspiration.

-- 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.

Expect more

This is already a wonderful day. Expect it to get even better.

There are many interesting and useful things you already know. Expect to learn even more.

You've successfully navigated through every past challenge. Expect to reap even greater success from the challenges you now face.

There is already great value in your life and in your world. Expect to create even more.

As good as life is, you can make it even richer and more fulfilling. Expect to move forward today and you'll find a way, no matter what, to make real progress.

If you knew without a doubt that you would get what you expect, what would you expect? Truly expect the best of today and you'll find those expectations leading you steadily forward.

-- 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 action

The way to get beyond frustration is to do something about it. Do something positive and meaningful and valuable.

The way to transform problems into opportunities is to do something about those problems. The way to reach your dreams is to get busy and do something about them.

It's great to think and dream and imagine and plan and analyze and consider. Yet it is positive, effective action that will bring those dreams and well-thought-out plans to life.

Is there something you've been meaning to do, something you've been planning to achieve? Now is the ideal moment to put those plans into action.

Now is when you can make things happen. Now is when you can experience the satisfaction of pointing all your energy and resources in a purposeful direction.

You've been doing a lot of thinking, and now is when you can act on those thoughts. Use this moment to take positive action, and bring great new value into 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.

Matter of choice

Life is always a matter of choice. Whatever the circumstances may be, you can choose the level at which you live.

You can choose what to think about the various events that play out in front of your eyes. You can choose how to respond to the challenges and opportunities that come into your life.

When you choose to consistently and persistently follow a particular purpose, you will manifest that purpose in the world around you. When you choose to focus your thoughts and efforts on things of meaningful value, you will create more value.

In the next few hours, or in the next few moments, anything can happen. It may be what you planned or it may be a total surprise.

Yet whatever may happen, you can choose what to do about it. Though you are subject to many powerful forces and influences, you can choose the way you deal with them.

The life you live is a matter of choice. Choose wisely, and live richly.

-- 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.

Let love

Let love touch you and heal you. Let love lift you and inspire you.

Let love ease your worries and calm your fears. Let love give you a reason to persist.

Let love fill you with courage and confidence and positive purpose. Let love fill you with peace.

When your mind is tied in knots with anger, frustration or anxiety, let love wash those negative thoughts away. Feel love, and feel much better.

Feel love, and feel an empowering connection to all that is. Give love, and give the best of who you are.

Let love be, in all its splendor. Let love live and grow in you 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.

Confidence in now

Now is where you are. Now is where to focus your efforts and attention.

Now you can act and get results. Now you can make a difference and have an influence.

It makes no sense to concern yourself now with your shortcomings in the past. Now is when you can do what you were previously unable or unwilling to do.

There is time to live your life and that time is now. There is time to experience joy, love and fulfillment, and that time is now.

There is nothing you need before you can act, because you are already here and now. There is much that you can do, so do it now.

Make complete, effective use of this moment. And know the power of claiming full confidence in now.

-- 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.

Life is not easy

Often, life is not easy. But then, it doesn't really have to be easy to be great.

Meaningful achievement is never easy. And yet, as difficult as it is, that achievement will bring great satisfaction, value and inspiration to your life.

Relationships are not easy. However, those relationships can bring immense richness to every aspect of your existence.

It's not easy to stay disciplined or focused or physically fit. It's not easy to manage dozens of conflicting priorities.

Even so, when you choose to deal with life's challenges and difficulties as they come, you are able to transform them. You have the opportunity to transform those ups and downs, those frustrations, discomforts and inconveniences into genuine fulfillment.

Yes, many times life is not easy. And yet it is precisely because of the difficulties that you're able to 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.

Power of peace

Put the power of peace into your thoughts. Feel the power of peace throughout your life.

When your thoughts are focused on conflict, those thoughts are in conflict with each other. That drains their power and effectiveness away.

Instead of looking for excuses to be in conflict, think of reasons to be at peace. Instead of always striving to get an advantage, allow the ultimate advantage of peace to easily and naturally flow from your center.

Your true purpose is not in conflict with anything. Though you will always face challenges, you never have to fight.

For you can meet those challenges with love and grace and the positive power of peaceful purpose. Instead of getting caught up in the conflict, with the power of peace you can find a positive way to successfully move beyond it.

No one can take peace away from you when you step forward and offer it first. Keep peace in your thoughts, and put real, meaningful power 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.

A day to savor

This is a day to savor, and now is your opportunity to do so. It has not come before and it will not come again, so this is the moment to live it.

Today has its own unique treasures to offer. Accept them, enjoy them, live them and learn from them while they are here.

This day is not just some abstract concept or number on a calendar. It is a one-of-a-kind living experience in which you are immersed right now.

This day may not be perfect, and yet it is immensely better than no day at all. By living it with enthusiasm and positive expectation, you can make this day the best one yet.

Go ahead and do what you've always wanted to do. Go ahead and feel the joy, go ahead and live the fulfillment, go ahead and be the authentic and beautiful you.

This is your day to savor, to appreciate, and to fill with rich, meaningful experience. Live it, love it and let it be one you never forget.

-- 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.

Life gets better

Every day, life gets better. Because every day adds more substance to the outstanding experience of life.

On some days it may seem like your life is falling behind instead of getting better. But that's just because you fail to consider the real value that is always building within you.

At some point you'll come to appreciate and even treasure the setbacks and disappointments. For although they are painful, they give you the opportunity to grow stronger.

The difficulties are blessings that haven't fully developed. The joys are well-deserved rewards that encourage you to keep moving forward.

No matter how good life has been, it is getting even better. No matter what challenges may push against you, each moment brings more of life's goodness.

Feel that goodness as it accumulates in your experience. And live the possibilities that become more rich and meaningful with each dawning day.

-- 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.

Receiving abundance

The way to receive life's abundance is to express it. The way to receive life's abundance is to do something creative and useful with it.

There is always something valuable that you can create with your time, your thoughts and actions. In every moment, in every situation, there is something you can do to express life's abundance.

Whatever you're able to create may not be something you particularly desire or require, but that's ok. Because there are other people who wish to have it, and who will happily pay you for it with something else of value to you.

In ways that are familiar and in ways that haven't yet been imagined, you can create value. With gratitude in your heart, and a desire to give meaning to life, you can create value.

You are surrounded by a sea of abundance. You are alive and aware and highly effective, in a universe that's overflowing with possibilities.

Through your own unique perspective, you can transform that raw, formless abundance into specific, tangible value. That is how wealth is created, and there is no limit to how much of it you can create.

-- 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 worry impossible

Worry is possible only when you forget how strong you can be. Worry is possible only when you forget how creative and effective and resilient you can be.

When you feel worry, you're feeling something that is based on a misinterpretation of the truth. For the truth is that you can respond in a powerful, positive and successful way to whatever may happen.

You've successfully navigated a lifetime of challenges. You've made it through countless difficult and demanding situations.

With each new day, you've become stronger, more knowledgeable, more experienced and more capable. And as such, you can choose to replace every negative worry with multiple positive actions.

Remind yourself of all the good and valuable things you've done. Remind yourself of the outstanding opportunities available to you right now.

Fill your mind with thoughts of your strengths, your passions, your effectiveness, and your positive possibilities. And you'll make worry impossible for you.

-- 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.

Rich detail

What exactly do you want? What are the specific results you wish to achieve?

If you only have a vague idea of what you'd like, you're simply not going to get it. For it's impossible to reach a destination that doesn't even exist.

To get what you want, you absolutely must define exactly what that is. Give yourself a clear, meaningful target and you'll then be able to successfully hit that target.

Put every one of your senses into richly experiencing, in your mind and in your emotions, the fulfillment of your goal. See in detail the colors, the sounds, the textures, tastes and aromas of what you seek to achieve, and feel the emotions you'll feel when you've arrived there.

Make the goal real in your mind. Integrate it into the way your body feels, with all the clear and wonderful details.

Give rich detail to your goal, and keep that goal close to you at all times. Then you'll surely and steadfastly take the actions that will indeed make it real 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.

Sparkling reality

In this moment, on this day, there is no reason for bitterness, sadness, regret or anger. For everything that has gone before has brought you to the beautiful and valuable place where you are right now.

In the sparkling reality of today, love and gratitude are no longer mere words or concepts. They are infused throughout your being.

Every breath you take is filled with positive possibility. All around you are choices and options upon which you can begin your journey to the most profound fulfillment you can imagine.

Yes, there is drama, there are problems and many difficult challenges. Yet your awareness has risen above them all, and from this higher perspective you can find your way through.

Open yourself to the abundance that is already yours. Live so as to transform that abundance into tangible value that fulfills and expresses your unique purpose.

Celebrate the sparkling reality of this wondrous day. Live the richness that is yours right now.

-- 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 is always time

Does it seem that there's not enough time? The fact is, at the moment, there is nothing other than now.

Time is something you look back upon or imagine moving through. Now is what you have to work with.

No matter how long you think it might take, what matters is what you are doing about it right now. Now is when you can make the effort, and now is when you can have an influence.

Everything that has ever been accomplished has been done by making use of a succession of present moments. You have just as much time as everyone else because everyone has this same moment right now.

Instead of putting off the effort, now is your opportunity to make it real and to make it happen. By making full use of this present moment, you make the next one more valuable.

Dream big dreams, then jump right in and live those dreams. There is always time, and it is always now.

-- 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.

Achievement is calling

Ambition is not just for the ambitious. Seeking achievement is not just for those who are young and hungry.

Achievement is also for those who are seasoned and satisfied. No matter how long you've been around, how much or how little you've already achieved, there is so much more that you can do.

Sure, it can be nice to sit back and relax for a while, and such relaxation is a healthy part of a balanced life. But relaxation, when it is endless, quickly loses its appeal.

Whether you're just starting out, or have come a long way already, or are starting over again, achievement is calling. Whatever your position, whatever your situation, you'll find great fulfillment in making a difference.

In all those things that stir your passion, there are valuable achievements waiting for you to bring them to life. In what you love, in the way you like to feel, there are pointers to your next great achievement.

Life is great, and yet as great as it is, you can make your own special improvements to it. Your next achievement will be the best one yet.

-- 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 you get is what you see

Is it really a problem, or is it your perspective that makes it look like a problem? What if you looked at it differently?

Is your life stuck because of some outside influence, or are you the biggest factor holding yourself back? What would happen if you took a few steps outside your comfort zone?

Everything that comes to you, first comes through your perceptions. The reality upon which you base your decisions and actions is the version of reality that you choose to perceive.

You cannot change what has already happened. However, you can easily change the way you see it.

Your circumstances are what they are. And in those circumstances, whatever they may be, you can choose to find empowerment and positive possibilities.

What you get is what you see. Choose to see each day, each moment, each situation as an opportunity to move forward, and that's exactly what you'll get.

-- 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.

A little distance

Think of the most difficult challenge you currently face. Now imagine that it's not you, but someone else who is going through that challenge.

What advice would you give that person? If you could step back and look at your situation as an objective observer, would you look at it any differently?

Think of the advice you would give another person if that person were in your exact same situation. Are you yourself following that advice right now?

When you're the one who is facing a challenge, you can be so close to it that your judgment is distorted. So imagine stepping back, away from the worry and anxiety.

Look at your situation calmly and objectively, putting it into the vast and valuable perspective of your entire life experience. Don't allow the problem to cloud your thinking just because you're the person who is experiencing it.

Give yourself the benefit of a little distance. And give yourself some great advice.

-- 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.