Pathway to Prosperity - Part III

Part III Pathway to Prosperity
The power to change your world
Your thoughts can change in an instant. And because of that, your whole outlook can change just as quickly.
Have you ever been feeling down and then suddenly encountered a wonderful, positive surprise? Just like that, the world around you changed from dismal to beautiful.
The only thing that really changed, however, was your thinking. Yet it was more than enough to completely transform the situation.
You have the power to change your world because you have the power to choose your thoughts. Though it may feel difficult, and even impossible, as soon as you do make a change in your thinking you realize how quick and easy and effective it can be.
The most important thing about any situation is the way you decide to think of it. Your thoughts can turn any occurrence into an opportunity, any experience into fulfillment.
At any given moment, what you think of your life determines what you will do with it. Always think the very best, and be it.
-- Ralph Marston
Get it behind you
When there's something you must do, that you don't want to do, what's the best approach? Though it is certainly counter intuitive, the best approach is to enthusiastically jump in and get it done.
It doesn't serve any useful purpose to focus on how much you detest the task. That just delays the completion and makes you feel even worse.
So just for a little while, for your own benefit, pretend that you're thoroughly enjoying it. Remind yourself that the more you enjoy it, the quicker and more effectively you'll get it done.
In fact, as you make swift progress, you might actually find yourself really, truly enjoying it. After all, you'll definitely feel great when you have it done.
Choose not to needlessly punish yourself with resentment. Instead, reward yourself with discipline, focus and achievement.
Select a positive, powerful attitude about the task at hand. Before you know it, you'll have it behind you.
In the living
The answer to your problems is not in some quick solution. The answer is in the living of your life in a positive, meaningful way.
The joy you seek is not in some particular, momentary pleasure or acquisition. The joy is in the living of the precious moments of your life as they come.
The wisdom you desire is not in some sudden, brilliant insight or revelation. The wisdom is in the living and the learning, in the triumphs and disappointments, in the pain and the love.
The value of life is not in any single possession or experience or feeling. The value of life is in the living.
So do not grasp or worry or boast or envy or waste your time trying to second-guess life. Simply live this now moment with all the love and energy and gratitude and awareness you can give.
Life is in the living. And here on this very day is your golden opportunity to fully taste the rich abundance.
-- Ralph Marston
Quiet enthusiasm
Sometimes enthusiasm shouts loudly and is very obvious. Yet many times enthusiasm works quietly, diligently and effectively behind the scenes to make great things happen.
Both kinds of enthusiasm are valid and powerful. Both kinds of enthusiasm can change life for the better.
Noisy, flashy enthusiasm commands great attention and makes many promises. Quiet enthusiasm follows through and fulfills those promises.
You don't have to be loud and boisterous to be enthusiastic. You can be just as enthusiastic and committed by being fully and yet quietly engaged in getting the work done.
Outer actions may be a sure sign of enthusiasm, yet they are not where enthusiasm comes from. Enthusiasm originates in the authentic passion that lives deep within you.
Explore, understand and feel that passion. And express enthusiasm in your own very special way.
-- Ralph Marston
Point the way
Dream big dreams, and set magnificent goals that take your breath away. When the going gets rough, the small, relatively meaningless goals are too easy to abandon.
The big, authentic dreams, on the other hand, will compel you to move forward. They give you solid reasons to work persistently through whatever challenges may come.
You can choose which dreams to follow. So make those dreams big enough to overpower any difficulty.
Make them dreams that faithfully express who you truly are. Make them dreams that resonate perfectly with your highest vision of the best that life can be.
When you get knocked down by disappointment, it's important to have a dream that will compel you to get right back up. When obstacles block your path, be sure that you're carrying a dream that will show you the view from a higher perspective.
Move constantly toward the best you can imagine. Hold on to those dreams that point the way there.
-- Ralph Marston
Know you can
It's great to believe you can accomplish some particular thing. It is far more powerful, however, to know you can.
When you merely believe, there is still room for doubt. When you know, there is no doubt at all.
How do you go from belief to knowing? You must put that belief into action.
Go ahead and take the first small step in the direction of your goal. Feel how it feels and know what it's like to actually accomplish what you have chosen to accomplish.
With thinking and planning and strategizing, you believe. With experience, you know.
Get yourself some real live experience in moving toward your goal. Once you know you can, you will.