The most important time

The wait is over. This moment is here and it is time to live.

Whatever could have been or should have been, doesn't matter. This moment is here and now for you to live.

Live it fully and richly, as if this is the only time there has ever been and the only time that will ever be. This is not a time for regret or blame or putting off until later.

This is your time to live. Feel how exquisitely amazing it is to be, and give the best of yourself to right now.

This moment you can stop giving energy to your limitations. Give your energy to joy and creation and authentic expression.

The most important time in your life is here right now. Live it like it really matters, because it absolutely does.

-- 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.

Take responsibility now

You're going to have to take responsibility at some point. Go ahead, get out in front of the situation, and grab that responsibility as soon as you can.

Realize that even though it's not your fault, if it impacts your world it is your responsibility. Responsibility means doing what you can, with all you have, to bring about a positive outcome.

It's easy to slosh around endlessly in a swamp full of excuses. But after all that sloshing, as impressive as it may be, you'll still be mired in a swamp.

Instead, climb out, step up and seize the opportunity to make a difference. Now is when your actions can bring real value to your world.

Stand up, take responsibility, and you'll stand out from the crowd. Step forward, get to work, and transform challenge into achievement.

By truly taking responsibility, you immediately begin to improve whatever situation you're in. By following through with that responsibility, you truly become master of your own destiny.

-- 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 voice of your purpose

Actions are an absolute necessity for meaningful accomplishment. So are dreams.

For if you cannot dream it, and envision it, you will not achieve it. When it tugs at your very soul, that is when you will make it happen.

You are not an unthinking, unfeeling machine that can blindly serve just any agenda. Your effectiveness comes from your purposeful involvement with what you do.

There is a reason why you feel everything you feel. Those feelings are the voice of your purpose.

It is difficult and challenging to follow those dreams that flow from your purpose. Yet when the purpose is true, it will feel stronger than any challenge.

Listen to the voice of your purpose. Dream and do, and give to life the unique value that is yours to 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.

Freedom and accomplishment

What are you resisting? What are you fighting or avoiding?

Would it be so bad to simply let it unfold? Would it be so bad to go ahead and deal with it?

Think of how good it will feel to stop fighting, to stop hiding, to stop avoiding. Imagine how great you'll feel when you deal with it and get it behind you.

Procrastinating, fighting and avoiding will only make it more difficult. The way out is to get it done.

Instead of feeling constantly drained, you can be positively energized. Instead of wasting your effort on running away, you can enjoy the satisfaction of getting it resolved.

Get it done. And enjoy the glorious feeling of freedom and accomplishment.

-- 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.

Just like you expect

When you are prepared to find fault, you will. When you are prepared to find goodness and value, you will.

What you are looking for determines what you find. What you are expecting determines what you experience.

Expectations don't magically change reality. Expectations do something even more powerful -- they change the way you deal with reality.

Is this going to be a positive, productive day or a disappointing, frustrating one? What do you expect?

The great thing is that you can expect whatever you choose to expect. And though the specific details won't always match your expectations, the overall tone of the day will be just like you most sincerely expect.

Expect the best. Proceed under the assumption that you'll get the best, from yourself and others, and you're well on your way to getting 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.

Be good fortune

Don't just look for good fortune. Be good fortune.

If all hope seems to be lost, make some yourself. Then make the efforts necessary to bring about its fulfillment.

You're not just an observer in this world. You're an active participant.

You don't have to merely settle for whatever happens to come along. You can take it and make something valuable and meaningful out of it all.

Each moment you have an opportunity to make a difference. Each day you can be the love and goodness and fulfillment that you seek to experience.

Look around with the eyes of your imagination at all the possibilities. Be the best of them 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.

Free from need

What do you really need? What if some of the things you think you need, you do not need at all?

Do you really need the approval of others? Do you really need to be offended by things that don't even affect you?

Do you really need that order of fries or that fourth cocktail? Do you really need to speed through the light that's already turned yellow?

Imagine being free of the burden of so much self-imposed and useless need. Instead of being boxed in by your nagging little needs, you can be empowered to fulfill your greatest desires.

The next time you instinctively act out of a sense of need, stop and ask yourself something. Is it really a need, or is it just a comfortable way to hide from your best possibilities?

Choose to stop needing so much. As soon as you do, you'll find that you have more than ever.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2010 Ralph S. Marston, Jr. From The Daily Motivator at http://greatday.com where you will find an archive of more than 3,000 positive messages plus books, CDs, motivational videos and more. Permission is given to post online only if this entire notice is included.

Stop blocking

Every moment you're alive, you are putting forth great effort. Unfortunately, all too often that effort is intended to hold you back.

Great, creative achievement does not require any more work than what you're already doing. It merely requires different work.

Instead of using your energy to make up excuses and rationalizations, you could be using that same energy to create new, unique value. Instead of using your efforts to reinforce your fears and feed your anxiety, you could be using your efforts to give your own beautiful, loving essence to all of life.

Your history tells you to be afraid, but the thing is, the past is not where you are. It cannot hold you or frighten you unless you choose for it to.

Instead, feel the glorious, warm power of your best possibilities. Know that as soon as you stop blocking those possibilities, you will easily and naturally make them real.

Give in, and turn yourself over to the living beauty that glows within you. This is your time to truly and richly live.

-- 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 peace inside

Peace has no boundaries. To be truly at peace with anything is to be fully at peace with everything.

But how can you be at peace when the world is so relentlessly demanding and complicated? How can you offer peace when you get none in return?

Understand that peace is not a transaction. It is a choice.

Peace is the way you can choose to be, whatever the situation. Peace is a choice that gives you great power in any situation.

You can be peaceful while still being ambitious and fully engaged with life and its many complications. You can be peaceful by following your own authentic purpose and living true to your highest values.

Peace is yours not to wish for, or to force upon others, or to negotiate, but to choose. Choose peace inside, and let the power flow out to your whole 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.

The power of your own possibilities

What if you could fully comprehend everything of which you're capable? You would never waste another moment of your precious time.

What if you could know how truly powerful you are? You would never again be reluctant to move forward.

You are the living expression of opportunity. Within you are countless magnificent achievements to be discovered and fulfilled.

Fear keeps those achievements unrealized, hidden from yourself and the world. Love will set them free.

Spend a moment in loving thankfulness for all that has brought you to where you are today. Peacefully let go of the resentment, doubt, disappointment, worry and fear.

Feel the power of your own possibilities. See that the best is yet to come, and joyfully begin to 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.

Keep coming back

How can you remain curious about your world, while not letting yourself become distracted by it? How can you be observant of what's going on around you, without being obsessed with it?

Make the firm and solid commitment to a meaningful purpose. And keep coming back to that purpose.

It's great to be open to new experiences, information and ideas. Yet at some point, you must stop merely collecting the data and start making use of it.

Curiosity involves exploration without a well-defined objective, and with it you can make some amazing discoveries. If those discoveries are to have any useful value, you must keep coming back to your purpose.

Without a guiding purpose, you'll wander aimlessly through a world filled with fascinating but meaningless distractions. With a purpose, though, you can transform all that random noise into real and meaningful value.

Go out and explore the world in all its richness, while being ever mindful of your purpose. Use all that curiosity and exploration to take you exactly where you want to 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.

For the joy of it

Live for the joy of it. Live for the love of it.

It's never irresponsible to truly enjoy your moments. Because when you live with joy you create more value for all of life.

In joy you can see the beauty. In the beauty you can feel your purpose.

Let go of your ideas of what should or should not be. Be joyful simply because you can, right where you are, with all you have.

Joy is a gift you give to life that comes back to you the moment you give it. Give it often and give it profusely.

Feel joy, be joy and give joy. Then find even more joy in the positive difference it makes.

-- 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 must be done

Is it really so difficult to do what must be done? It's not difficult at all, when you stop fighting against it.

One little step will get you started, and once you're started, you become interested and invested. Once you're started, momentum begins to give you a push that becomes stronger with each effort.

Instead of putting off what you know must be done, what if you could somehow get yourself to be positively enthusiastic about it? You absolutely can, because you can choose how you wish to feel about anything.

It is indeed a privilege to be able to make good and useful things happen. It is a blessing to be in the position to undertake effective effort.

The genuine satisfaction in your life comes when you know you're making a difference. And whatever it is in your world that must be done, is your opportunity to make that difference.

Go beyond intending, go beyond planning, go beyond wishing, and go beyond saying you need to get it done. Dive in, go to work, make something happen and be the positive, dynamic difference that makes you feel so wonderfully alive.

-- 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.

This is life

You spend a lot of time fixing things when they go wrong. Be sure to put just as much time and awareness into enjoying life when things go right.

You work with focus and diligence to tend the garden that is your world. Spend some peaceful, quality time in that garden, simply taking in its beauty.

There are plenty of challenges that come into your life. Take care that you don't view life itself as a struggle.

Reflect instead on the miracle of your existence. Feel intensely the beauty and wonder that you're able to know, simply because you are.

Even in the complicated, challenging efforts, find and revel in the joy that is surely there. Remind yourself often what a privilege it is to be.

Breathe in the fresh, cool fragrant air and relax into the wonder. This is life, and it is truly amazing.

-- 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.

Opportunities big and small

You won't solve all your problems today, but you can take care of one or two of them. You probably won't get all the way to your destination, but you can definitely make some progress.

Every day offers numerous opportunities to make progress. Make use of as many of them as you can.

Steady, persistent effort may not seem like it's having much effect at the time you're doing it. Keep going though, because over time those little steps forward can take you a long, long way.

Right now, there's a valuable difference you can make. Instead of just letting the next few moments pass by with nothing to show for them, choose to invest them wisely.

Move your world forward a little bit. No one else may even notice, but you will know, and you will benefit, and so will they.

By fully appreciating and utilizing the smaller opportunities, you attract the bigger opportunities into your life. Use what you have, with persistence and faith, and you'll most surely get wherever you wish 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.

With each step forward

You are a beautiful and unique bundle of possibilities. Joy, fulfillment and every good thing will come from bringing those possibilities to life.

There is never any need to get more. For all that can possibly be right now, already is.

Life's abundance is not something you have to go out and get. It's something you go in and accept, then go out and express.

What you long for, is already available to you. If it were not, you could not know to desire it.

Your job is to express that longing, fulfill the dream, and give life to its beauty in your own special way. Abundance flows into your life as you create authentic ways to make use of it.

Seek to make a difference that is meaningful and positive. With each step forward you take, you'll find everything necessary to take the next step.

-- 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.

Priceless beauty

Possibility can be a frightening thing because it is so vast. There are so many choices available to you, it's difficult work figuring out which ones to follow.

One of the most important things you will ever do is to understand exactly what you wish to do. It may seem intimidating, and yet it can be easy when you simply let yourself be you.

Don't be afraid or ashamed of what you truly desire. That desire is a window into the valuable and unique purpose that is at the heart of you.

A mere machine is able to follow instructions, and can do so very well. Your job is to follow your heart, and that's a much more important job.

You are a living expression of truth. There are gifts you have to give that cannot ever come from anywhere else.

Feel those urges that come from the heart of you, and give them life. Create the priceless beauty that is yours alone, right now, to 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.

Worry and confidence

If you're able to worry, you're also able to be confident. Because from a functional standpoint, worry and confidence are pretty much the same thing.

Worry is the expectation that something negative will happen. Confidence is the expectation that something positive will happen.

How do you create confidence about something that hasn't happened yet? You use the exact same process you would use to create worry.

The big difference between worry and confidence is the expected outcome. And the powerful fact is, you can expect whatever outcome you choose.

There's another way that worry and confidence are quite similar. They both tend to be self-fulfilling prophesies.

So instead of destroying your effectiveness with worry, you can vastly enhance your effectiveness with confidence. It takes nothing more than a simple yet powerful change in your expectations.

-- 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.

Attachment to results

Achievement is stressful only if you assume it to be. Ambition creates anxiety only when you are overly attached to the results.

Achievement is something you do. It is not who you are.

If you fail to attain the results you seek, that does not make you any less of a person. Certainly your aim is to be successful, yet it is much more effective to choose success than to need it.

Expect the best, and give your very best to the effort. Then be willing to accept the results, whatever they may be.

Care intensely about what you intend and what you do. But don't worry or obsess about what you get.

Your most effective efforts come from who you are, not from what you need. Let go of your attachment to the results, and you'll get the best ones ever.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2010 Ralph S. Marston, Jr. From The Daily Motivator at http://greatday.com where you will find an archive of more than 3,000 positive messages plus books, CDs, motivational videos and more. Permission is given to post online only if this entire notice is included.

Choices in every moment

The same skills you use to create limiting beliefs can be used to create empowering beliefs. All you need is a meaningful enough reason.

The same energy you use to make excuses can instead be used to take action. You simply have to want it enough.

You are a full time, highly effective achievement machine. What you choose to achieve is completely up to you.

You have what it takes to live your dreams and you have what it takes to ignore those dreams. You get to decide which it will be.

Your choices are made in every moment, in every word, in every thought, and in every action. Those choices are driven by what you focus upon.

The life you live is the life you choose to most vividly and consistently imagine. Imagine the best, without ceasing, and that's exactly what you'll 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.

Nothing wrong

There is nothing wrong. There is simply what is, and what you choose to make of it.

If you spend all your energy on judgment, there's no energy left for progress. And judgment doesn't pay the bills.

You have the opportunity to create something beautiful. It starts with accepting and valuing what already is.

Life's energy comes to you, and you can do with it whatever you please. Very little of what comes your way is under your control before it gets to you, but every bit of what you do with it is yours to decide.

Instead of fighting battles that are already over, simply accept that things are as they are. Then look closely with a positive purpose, and you'll find plenty of opportunities for creating meaningful value.

Life is bringing you amazing possibilities right now. Let them come, let them be, and find joy in making the very 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.

Fear of rejection

You won't get anyone to say yes unless you're willing to take the risk that they'll say no. To get the answer you seek, you must ask.

When you ask, there is the possibility of rejection. And though rejection may seem like something to avoid, is it really so bad?

What's much, much worse is to live in fear of rejection. When you never even ask, the answer is always no.

What if you could simply let go of that fear of rejection? The fact is, you can.

Some people will value what you say, what you do, what you seek, and other people won't. Keep reminding yourself that's their concern, not yours.

Choose to do what you know is worthy and what you know is best. Let go of the useless and limiting fear of rejection, and feel the freedom to truly soar.

-- Ralph Marston

Copyright (c) 2010 Ralph S. Marston, Jr. From The Daily Motivator at http://greatday.com where you will find an archive of more than 3,000 positive messages plus books, CDs, motivational videos and more. Permission is given to post online only if this entire notice is included.

Heal the hurt

When you blame others for your troubles, you give them control of your life. Free yourself from your own anger, from your own resentment, and you'll find vastly more room for serenity and abundance.

It's bad enough if someone has wronged you in the past. Is it of any value for you to continue suffering from it?

Your best strategy is not to prolong the pain, or expand upon it. Your best strategy is to get past it as quickly as possible.

Whether or not anyone deserves your forgiveness is not the point. The point is, you deserve to forgive, to take back control of your life, so that you can live abundantly.

Your forgiveness may not even make a difference to those you forgive, if they're even aware of it. For you, it makes all the difference in the world.

When it is you who is feeling the hurt, it is also you who can heal the hurt. Heal the hurt, and move past the pain, with forgiveness.

-- 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.

More than you think

When your mind goes to the trouble to give you a thought, pay attention. There's a reason for that thought.

It may seem insignificant, but it's not. That thought, at the moment it comes, is the culmination of all you've ever known.

Instead of dismissing your thoughts, explore them. Instead of assuming that a particular thought is irrelevant, look for its deeper meaning.

You know much, much more than you think you know. Be appreciative, respectful and curious when your mind is helping you to remember and to realize what's truly important.

Within your thoughts there is great, untapped wealth. Pay attention, and reap the benefit of that wealth as it flows into your awareness.

Right now, your mind is offering you a thought that can change your life. Let that thought come, explore its meaning, and fully live the richness it brings.

-- 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.

Enrich your whole world

If you don't feel like taking action, that's just because you haven't started. Get started, get going, get involved in making a difference, and you will absolutely feel like it very quickly.

Right now is the time for action. Right now is when you can do something that will have a positive impact on your world, on your life, and on your lifestyle.

If you wish to get ahead, it takes more than just wishing. Clearly define where you want to go, and you can start working on it right now.

Do you want to be lucky? Those who experience the best luck are those who make their own luck by making the most of what they have.

What you have, right now, is this moment and this opportunity to do something useful and meaningful with it. Go ahead, seize that opportunity and make something truly amazing with it.

Surprise and impress yourself with what you can accomplish when you focus your energy on it. This is your moment to enrich your whole world, so get busy, get going and make it 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.

You are connected

When you look out at the world, a little bit of what you see is the world. Much of what you see, however, is you.

No experience is completely objective. Most experiences are hardly objective at all.

If you're having a bad day, that's an opportunity to change your perceptions. Choose to do so, and the whole world can suddenly be a much more positive place.

Instead of projecting your worst fears onto life, project your highest hopes and most treasured dreams. See what things look like then.

You are connected to all you observe and experience. Make a positive difference in you, and you make a positive difference in 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.