Imagine having a debit card that worked like this. Each morning $1,000 would be credited to your account, and you could use the card to spend that amount on whatever you wanted. Then, at the end of the day, any remaining balance on the card would be removed. The next morning, another $1,000 would be added. If you did not spend the money on something during the day, you would lose it. You could not squirrel it away in a... Read more

If you’re getting ready to be happy, you won’t be. If you’re preparing to be happy, you won’t be. Happiness is not something you schedule. Happiness is yours when you simply allow it to be. Yes, you can work to create desirable conditions in your life. Yes, you can work to reach certain specific achievements or to own a well-defined list of possessions. None of those things will make you happy, however. In fact, nothing will make you happy. No... Read more

What would happen if you stood in the middle of a busy shopping center and offered to give a $10 bill to anyone who walked up to you in exchange for a $5 bill? Would anyone take you up on that offer? Absolutely! In fact, in a short time you’d have a massive crowd on your hands, with each person eager to give you $5 in exchange for $10. Does that sound like a ridiculous, money-losing proposition? Sure, it would... Read more

Is it selfish to follow your desires? Absolutely not. What’s selfish is to expect those desires to be fulfilled for you without any effort on your part. What’s selfish is to expect everything you want to be handed to you. What’s selfish is to hide your true desires, to cover them up with mere tokens. What’s selfish, is to borrow your dreams from someone else, or to trivialize them to the point that they’re mere objects in the consumer marketplace.... Read more

Someone asked me the other night to name the favorite place I had ever been. I drew a complete blank. I’ve been a lot of great places, and enjoyed each of them in their own way. But I have never really thought to rank them. There are places I like and other places I don’t like so much, but I could never settle on just one favorite. I run into the same dilemma when setting up online access to an... Read more

You know that you want to live with positive purpose. You know that you want to achieve great things and find the fulfillment for which you long. And yet, when you wake up each morning, there are all sorts of mundane things already demanding your attention. Those things can quickly wear you down and break your spirit. You start off with the very best of intentions, and end up getting distracted again today by the same things that held you... Read more

If you were certain that you could reach your goal by taking just one more step, would you take it? Of course you would. If you knew that by making just one additional effort you would achieve what you’ve been working to achieve, would you make that effort? You’d be crazy not to. It would be a terrible shame to get past all the previous obstacles, only to let the very last obstacle stop you. The thing is, it would... Read more

What you wish to have is very desirable. What you must do to achieve it is not particularly pleasant or enjoyable. So how do you bridge the gap? How do you discipline yourself to take the actions you must take in order to get the results you seek to have? You remind yourself. You constantly and relentlessly remind yourself of what you seek and why. You continually connect the actions you must take now with the rewards you will enjoy... Read more

Do you need more money? Ok, assume that your bank account suddenly has more money than you could spend in a hundred lifetimes. Take some of that money and pay all your bills. Then go shopping, and buy everything you’ve ever wanted to buy. After that, pack your bags and get moving. See the world. Visit every place you’ve ever thought of visiting. Experience everything you’ve ever wished to experience. Then ask yourself, are there some people you’d really like... Read more

If there’s something you really don’t want to do, in just a couple of minutes you could come up with a half dozen perfectly valid excuses for not doing it. You’re highly skilled at rationalizing your way to just about any conclusion. So here’s an idea. Point that power in a positive, creative, productive direction. Instead of coming up with excuses for not taking action, create some really great excuses that give you permission to go ahead act. Focus on... Read more