April 2008 – The Affirmation Spot Blog

Remember to Reward Yourself – The Affirmation Spot for Wednesday April 30, 2008

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Your Fifth Affirmation is Always Free at The Affirmation Spot

Whenever you download four affirmations at The Affirmation Spot your fifth affirmation is free. Simply type five in the coupon field at checkout to get your fifth affirmation free. (Offer valid only on a per order basis. Multiple single downloads do not receive this discount.)

Today’s featured affirmation is:

“I know what achieving my goal feels like. I know what it smells like and tastes like. I know what achieving my goal looks like and sounds like. I envision my life with my goal attained.” (repeats 4 times)

“You know what achieving your goal feels like. You know what it smells like and tastes like. You know what achieving your goal sounds like and looks like. You envision your life with your goal attained.” (repeats 4 times)

Hear an audio mp3 version of this affirmation right now.

There is one thing that is so often overlooked by people pursuing business, spiritual, or personal goals. You have to remember to reward yourself once in a while.

It’s easy to get caught up in the pursuit and forget to enjoy the fruits. Our big reward this year was our trip to Hawaii. We spoiled ourselves a little by going two years in a row, but we’re worth it and so are you!

Your reward is whatever rejuvenates, refreshes, or reinspires you to get back on the path or back in the fight. Take the time to figure out what those things are and use them as the carrots that spur you along as you pursue your objectives, goals, and dreams.

If I gave you 60 seconds right now, could you name five things that do that for you or your family? You need to know these things and keep them in front of you to help you through the tough spots that inevitably come into our lives.

Reward yourself! You’re worth it. Your family is worth it.

April and me are starting a vision board. It’s a term that describes the latest incarnation of the old goals board. You place pictures, items, and words on a board that keep you focused on your goals and their rewards. They need not be things. They can be experiences. They can be changes you want to see in the world. Whatever inspires YOU!

Trendy, yes I know, but it’s a very effective way to help you visualize where you are going, what keeps fuel in your tank, and why you are doing that 16-hour day today.

Hawaii Part I

OK. I promised some play-by-play of Hawaii and some pictures. Today is part one. I will work the rest of the story into upcoming posts.

April 18 and April 19

We arrived in Honolulu on Friday April 18 and checked in to the beautiful Pacific Beach Hotel on Waikiki. April snapped this gorgeous photo of the sun setting with sailboats in the foreground.

The sand was white and soft and the sunset was memorable. We enjoyed a small taste of the Waikiki night life taking in some hula dancers and a local band at the outdoor hotel coffee shop.

Saturday we enjoyed some shopping and sightseeing near the beach before boarding Norwegian Cruise Line America’s Pride of America. The ship sailed at 8 p.m. leaving the lights of Honolulu behind and setting course for Hilo.

April 20

Sunday morning we arrived in Hilo and managed to catch the site of one of the few lingering humpback whales that had not left yet for Alaska. We had a date with the world’s most active volcano Mt. Kiluwea. Our maiden excursion on this cruise was an eight-mile bike ride around the rim of the volcano.

The weather was chilly and rainy and felt more like Seattle than Hawaii. However, the volcano did not disappoint. The photo shows April and me decked out for our rainy bike ride with the volcano’s main vent spewing in the background.

That evening the ship backed up along the Hilo coast allowing us to see the volcano at night.

While not as impressive as last year, Kiluwea was hard at work creating the newest land on Earth. April got this photo of two lava streams flowing into the ocean and the smoke being generated as 2000 degrees meets the cool waters of the Pacific.

That night we enjoyed a beautiful night at sea with a near full moon lighting the way. We slept with sliding glass door to the balcony open and drifted off to sleep to the gentle rocking and hypnotic sound of the placid Pacific.

…to be continued

Rewards, my friends, whatever yours might be are so important. Keep them in front of you. Don’t feel guilty for experiencing them. They are the sweet nectar gleaned from your hard work, your patient striving, and your hard-won success.

Stay peaceful stay positive stay prosperous!

Ray

Happy as You Want to Be – The Affirmation Spot for Saturday April 25, 2008

Well, our beautiful cruise in Hawaii is drawing to a close. I am planning a detailed blog when we return describing our wonderful experience.

Abraham Lincoln once said, “Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” I was struck with this today while waiting in line for two eggs over easy in the cafe on the ship. I listened as another passenger berated the cook about her poor experience aboard ship and how she’d heard from other people how much better other ships are.

This is April’s and my second Freestyling trip aboard Norwegian and we love it. This woman was complaining about the food, the service, the excursions…just about everything to this poor cook who has been working his tail off all week to take care of our needs.

I got to thinking that NCL is not responsible for this woman’s happiness on her vacation to Hawaii. She is. It’s a metaphor for all of us.

Our company and our boss are not responsible for our happiness at work. What we make or don’t make of our jobs is up to us. The same is true in every area of our lives. We are responsible for our own happiness. It’s not our parents or friends or circumstances or income that create or deplete our happiness. It is us and our mindset. It is our willingness to change what we don’t like and try to make it better.

Lincoln was right. We are about as happy as we make up our minds to be. Are you as happy as you want to be? If not, it’s time to do something about it. We all have the capability and the talent to change our situation for the better and make ourselves happier.

The question is will you?

Aloha from mid ocean between beautiful Kauai and Oahu.

Be peaceful Be positive Be prosperous!

Ray

Be Here Now! – The Affirmation Spot for Saturday April 19, 2008

Very short blog today. April and I arrived in Honolulu yesterday. This morning we were sitting on the beach at Waikiki. I started thinking about our schedule for the week and our intinerary for returning home and , then, I stopped myself. I remembered Ram Dass’ old book Be Here Now.

That’s really what it is all about. We spend a lot of time in the past and the future. Now is what we have and the quality of our lives is diminished when we are not present in this moment. Everything we can do anything about, everything that is real and important is right here in this moment.

The past is the past. The future will care for itself. We need to be fully present, fully engaged in the now. That is where our peace, happiness, and fulfillment are to be found.

Then I was able to enjoy my morning on Waikiki. Appreciate and experience it the way I intended.

We have already been getting a heavy dose of that Aloha spirit. So many people from so many places here and everyone getting along. It is possible for the world, not just Hawaii, to be that way.

May you be who you are and where you are today without qualification and thrive in the present moment.

We’re on to the our cruise this evening.

Aloha!

Be peaceful Be positive Be prosperous!

Ray

The Aloha Spirit of Hawaii – The Affirmation Spot for Thursday April 17, 2008

Thank you for visiting The Affirmation Spot. Your comments on the blog or this article are always welcome. What do you think? Please click here to comment on today’s blog.

Your Fifth Affirmation is Always Free at The Affirmation Spot

Today’s featured affirmation is:

“Today I am one day closer to my dream vacation in Hawaii.” (repeats 4 times)

“Today you are one day closer to your dream vacation in Hawaii.” (repeats 4 times)

Hear an audio mp3 version of this affirmation right now.

My wife and I leave for our long-anticipated return trip to Hawaii tomorrow. Blogs may be a little sparse for the next ten days although it is my plan to blog a couple of times on the trip.

Hopefully, I will have some great experiences and maybe some pictures to share.

We are doing the island-hopping tour aboard Norwegian Cruise Lines’ Pride of America. It’s a slightly smaller ship than the former Pride of Hawaii (our ship last year), but still large, elegant, and beautiful looking ship.

The seven-day cruise aboard a Free Style NCL ship is definitely the way to see the islands. You travel at night and arrive in your new port each morning. There are a wide array of excursions that allow you to experience many aspects of the islands.

One of the things April and I loved so much about Hawaii is the Aloha Spirit. I found two really good descriptions of the in-depth meaning of Aloha – beyond just love, hello, and goodbye.

What is the Aloha Spirit?

The Aloha Spirit

May your day and your life be filled with Aloha!

Be peaceful Be positive Be prosperous!

Ray

6 Ways to Add Intentionality to Goals and Dreams – The Affirmation Spot for Wednesday April 16, 2008

In my last post I talked about articulating your goals and dreams. Today we explore the concept of putting your intentions to achieve your goals and dreams out into the universe.

Dictionary.com defines intention as 1) an act or instance of determining mentally upon some action or result. 2) the end or object intended; purpose.

Intentionality is about thinking, speaking, and acting as though your goal is already accomplished. There is a certain assumptiveness to it. You don’t question your ability to reach the goal. You begin to embody its accomplishment. You hear phrases like “fake it ’til you make it” and “live as if…” used in motivational contexts.

If your dream is to be a great painter, you begin doing the things that great painters do. You devote time to your art. You begin mingling with other artists. You start living the life you want today and let your art follow you to the dream.

Be practical and responsible. If your goal is to become a millionaire, don’t go out and spend yourself into debt on the assumption you are about to become a millionaire. Rather begin making decisions about your life like a millionaire. Begin envisioning yourself in that position. Begin taking actions to get you there.

Intentionality is about putting a stake in the ground and committing your mind, body, and soul to reaching your dream. That requires a decision. The moment of decision is like the splash of a rock being dropped into a pond. The intentionality is like the ripples that stem from that splash. A decision to act displaces the configuration of the universe as surely as a rock hitting the pond displaces water. It creates movement in the world.

The strength of the ripples (your intentionality) is determined by the size of the rock (size of your decision). The bigger your decision and the more determination there is behind it, the more powerful the ripples will be in the world. You can augment your intentionality by continually dropping rocks (renewing and recommitting to your decision).

There are six things you can do to solidify your intention to achieve a goal or a dream. Each is important in creating the ripples and the movement towards accomplishment.

Think about your dreams – don’t let the day-to-day struggle of life prevent you from focusing on your dreams. Keep them “top of mind”. Write them down and keep them in front of you.
Share your dreams with others – there is additional power created when we share our dreams with another person. Sometimes others can support you creating a synergy of action that you cannot achieve alone. This also involves articulating your dreams – another important step in bringing them into action and reality.
Pray or meditate on your dreams – ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and the door shall be opened. In your quiet times ask, seek, and knock on the door of your dreams. Your quiet time is the time where you solidfy your intentions and handle the obstacles you encounter. You get recharged, re-energized, and refocused.
Believe in your dreams – most great people go through a period on the way to their dreams when they are the only one who believes. You may face that and you need to be prepared to push forward.
Act on your dreams – thoughts and words are the foundations of achievement, but action is the engine of it. If your thoughts and words are never translated into action, you will never achieve.
Begin living as if the dream is already accomplished – be the person you want to be and live the life you want to have and let the reality follow the actions.

If you do these six things, you will create a powerful intention to see your dreams and goals become a reality.

Now go out there and make a big splash! Create your ripples and get on to achieving your heart’s desire.

Be positive Be peaceful Be prosperous!

Ray

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