What is your Value?

Do you value yourself?  Do you know your worth to the world?  Or are you always seeking acceptance never discovering your true value?  Each of us brings unique traits and qualities to this world and our value should never be set by others, we should instead know and accept our true value of ourselves. 

I believe that if we do not value who we are as a person no one else will!  Is there a fine line between self-worth and Ego, yes there can be.  True self-worth is a quiet assurance that never has to be proclaimed to the world.  It is feeling confident in your abilities and your place in the world.  It is knowing what you can add to a situation and being willing to learn and stretch your abilities to help others.

So how do we begin to value ourselves?  It starts with listening to yourself, finding who you truly are and truly understanding what talent and abilities you have.  Recognize what you have been through in your life.  Give yourself credit for making it through everything you have been through.  Acknowledge the things you have learned along the way and most importantly believe in yourself.  The world is a better place because you are in it and contributing to it every day.  You have value and your willingness to define your value will only enhance your life.

Till next time,

Bill

Quote of the day: “Discover your true value to the world.  Go forth with confidence that you are special and you have value!”

Open your heart to open your mind!

With the tragic events of the past week in Colorado Springs and San Bernardino there has been much talk, including by Presidential candidates, about how we should react to such events.  Most of the reactions out there are based on fear and hate.  These are the easiest ways to control people and rally them for your cause.  I dismiss the idea of fear and I abhor the idea of hate.  Certainly there are people in this world that are out to hurt us with no regard for who is responsible for their own problems but the way forward in the world is discover the love we each have inside.  By taking the time to see that true light in ours we bring ourselves to a place of compassion and understanding rather than a place of fear and hate.

Our country has a long history of trying to hate or define a new ethnic group until we as a society will not put up with it anymore.  This was true of the African Americans, the Irish, the Jewish, the Japanese and now it is the Muslim’s.  Why do we hate because we have not had the chance to know and understand each of these groups until much time has passed.  I believe that this world is coming together like never before and the vast majority of people are good people and want to be good.

The way we as a society and as individuals change the world is to open our hearts to everyone so that we can open our minds to their situation.  It is very hard to do it the other way around we try to box in our emotions with what we believe to be logic.  The truth is you can justify anything if you want to.  The opportunity to change the pattern is to open you heart first and allow your compassion to lead your mind to different conclusions.

There have been radicals in every ethnic group in our history.  Some of those groups were terribly feared in their time but we grew up and began to understand why they were acting out the way they were.  Once we did this we accepted the change that was needed to make their lives better. 

Stop allowing talking heads to tell you what you should think or feel.  Let go of the fear and find a way to make a difference.  You and only you can decide where you should stand.

Till next time,

Bill

Quote of the Day: “By opening our hearts first we allow our heads to hear a different truth.  Know compassion instead of fear and change the world with your love.” 

Giving Thanks!

With the Thanksgiving holiday this Thursday, I think it’s time again to think about giving thanks.  What are you thankful for?  Through gratitude everything is possible.  I have mentioned before that my wife Heidi and I practice gratefuls every day.  We believe in the power of giving thanks.  No matter how dark of a day you are having there is always something to be grateful for.

The more you appreciate your life as it is today, the more you open your heart to other possibilities.  It is only by being grateful that we allow God/universe to work on our behalf.  Remember God/universe only wants to give us what we are looking for but that can be negative things as well as positive things.  By starting each day with gratitude we express thanks to God/universe for the wonderful things that God/universe brought into our lives yesterday.

I have also discovered that by starting the day with gratitude we set a more positive tone for the whole day ahead of us.  This tone then translates into more things to be grateful for today and so on.  So what are you grateful for?  I’d love to hear all of your responses.  Here are some of mine:

1.       I am grateful for my family.  I love and appreciate all my sisters, my mother, my

 3 daughters and my beautiful wife Heidi.

2.       I am grateful for living in Colorado.  I love the beauty of this state and I am

 grateful that I have ended up here.

3.       I am grateful for my house.  I love where we live and appreciate owning my

 own place.

4.       I am grateful for the opportunity to start my own business and to get away  

 for the corporate world and especially taxes.

5.       I am grateful for my community.  I love the people in this area and believe

 together we can do anything.  I am honored to be involved with 2 Chamber

 of Commerce’s and to be the Co-Chair of the 285 Tourism Committee.

6.       I am grateful for our 3 dogs they bring us joy and laughter every day.

7.       I am grateful for all my online friends, some of whom have been with me

 for nearly 10 years.  I appreciate your friendship and support.

8.       I am grateful that I can be a voice for those that need one.

9.       I am grateful for my birthday which this year is on Thanksgiving.  I

 celebrate each year with appreciation as I know too well that nothing

 is guaranteed.

10.   I am grateful for finding joy in the smallest things.

I wish you all a beautiful, warm Thanksgiving and if you are not in the US, I hope the intention of this day can be shared worldwide.

Till next time,

Bill

Quote of the day: “By giving thanks we open our heart to joy and discover the path to a better life.”