234 – August 22
“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.”—Andre Gide
No one who has ever written a story, painted a picture or improvised music will tell you that it came out exactly as envisioned before the moment of creation. Our lives are like paintings that take on a different energy with a single unplanned brush stroke; colors merge and blend, the eyes see form beneath the paint, the arm arcs with power, and a surprising new line is drawn. Novelists speak of their characters as having a life of their own; they whisper to them in dreams in the night, and the plot flows through fingers in tune with a metaphysical channel of energy. Music flows from rhythm and beat; whirling notes cascading from mouths, fingers, horns, and strings. It is the gift of being in what psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi terms “flow,” in touch with being; what athletes, artists, salespeople, teachers, all who have experienced being completely focused in a moment of creation know as being in “The Zone.”
Our lives are like that. We tune and strengthen our instrument, we gather our paints and canvases, we read and write and perfect our gift of language, and set out upon the road of the world. We cannot see what is around the bend, what lies beyond the next hill, what notes will carry gaily on the air, what musicians will travel in our band. But we have goals, wishes, wants, dreams, plans. We create in our minds what we’d like to see up ahead, and set out in search of the prize. And we always get a prize—just not always the one we were expecting.
That you set a goal and get something different does not negate the goal setting process. Indeed, without a goal to set your life in motion, you wander aimlessly, a pawn to be used for other people’s goals. Without a goal, there is no action; without action, there are no accomplishments.
Prizes don’t drop in on you unannounced, while you sip your morning coffee in your bathrobe.
Today’s Affirmation:
“I have what it takes to go out and get what I want!”
You just never know when a big ship is going to come in. You market and advertise, blog, tweet, post on Facebook, your web site, emails, newsletters, etc. and then one day, AOL News calls and says they want to do an article with a positive slant on the financial situation. They came to the right person, didn’t they?
“Stay Positive Even While Market Swings, Brentwood Financial Adviser Urges” (that’s me!)
by Nima Maghame
As the stock market continues its roller coaster ride, people are on edge when it comes to their wallet.
Brentwood native Chellie Campbell knows all about the frustration and fear that comes with a bear market recession. She has been working out of her home office in West LA since the early 90s consulting with locals on what she brands as financial stress reduction®.
“All we hear in the news is that we should be afraid and most people are driven by fear, which simply makes everything worse…(The media) should reinforce that America is fine and that we go through cycles of booms and busts. During times of recession we shouldn’t be trying to sell everything. If anything, we should be spending more,” Campbell said.
Campbell urges her clients to take a positive perspective on daily finances. She suggests having three budgets – low, middle, and high – and picking one at the beginning of every month. This will let you save when they need to, she says, and spend when you want.
“When people hear the word budget, they often hear the word ‘can’t’,” she said.
Campbell argues that finances change and by creating three different budgets instead of only one, spending freedom can be worked in when cash flow increases…
For the rest of the article, please click on the link below