I know some of these blogs have not been very business related, and many people have asked me recently how DolphinFeet came to be. So, voila! THE STORY.
When I was younger, my family of five used to drive alllll the way to Delaware each Christmas and alllll the way home--32 hours each way, in vans packed with presents and gear. One year, out of her bag of keep-the-kids-busy tricks, my mom handed us some construction paper and string and said, "let's make lights!" And so my brother and sister and I cut out little paper lights, attached them to yarn, and hung them on all the windows of the big vans.
Oh my goodness, what a hit! We had people honking, waving, and applauding us as they passed. We even had people exit with us just to ask where we had bought the lights! It was great fun, and of course we did it every year after that. We also decided as a family that someone should sell fabulous Christmas decorations for cars that would make people light up and smile, creating warm connections between strangers like we had experienced. And, after surviving the snow and dirt in December, they should be able to be removed in January without harm to the car. Years later, in the fall of 2007, my mom and I came up with the idea that stickers might be one way to do those very same decorations...
Little did I know what awaited me in the printing world! As I researched and tested and worked on the designs, I began to encounter barriers. BIG barriers. Barriers that have plagued the printing world and its clients (or would-be clients) for a very long time and still do. Those barriers are simple yet formidable: Either you gotta reduce your amazing logo to two colors, or you have to reduce your quality expectations and just know that the stickers are going to fade in two to three months (but who cares because they really aren't the colors you wanted anyway), or you can get exactly what you want for cheap but you have to order 5,000-10,0000 and wait four to six weeks.
Hmmmmm.... not very appealing.
Well, I tested a ton of interesting new material types, and after a few close calls and several months, I found one that did what I wanted - it STUCK, even through car washes and bad weather, and yet, it removed CLEANLY every time. Now I tackled the design limitations - the big one. I knew it would absolutely kill my soul to be creating art for people with limits on the number of colors or the shapes. I talked with every local printer, as well as printers in seven other states. They had to be able to use MY material, cut it into ANY shape, use EVERY color, AND turn it around within a week. Nobody could. No one. Anywhere. It was just not happenin'.
Defeated, I dragged myself to one of the local printers I had befriended with along the way. She had told me earlier that the cutting I was asking for (such as cutting out Christmas lights on a string) was just too complicated for her machine. I sat across from her with my file of failed attempts, and she commiserated with my broken dreams just like a good bartender. And then...she started to dig around in a box of samples behind the counter. Eventually she pulled out a smallish sticker with jagged edges - PERFECT jagged edges, with little details in the jaggedness that had been cut beautifully and perfectly by her machine. "My husband made me try to cut this out on our machine yesterday," she said, "and it kinda worked! I wonder if-" I was out of my chair and out the door in a second. I ran home to send her my design file to try in her machine "just for fun," and it wooooorrrrrrrrked!!
We were off and running! We had a fantastic time breaking into the retail world - everyone loved the colors, the price, and especially the REMOVABILITY! No gunky sticky goo on your car or your water bottle or your laptop?!? Get out!! It was fun! And so DOLPHIN FEET was born, and we started doing custom work for small businesses. We have done cell phone stickers, laptop skins, labels on coffee bags, trade show event stickers, vehicle signs...you name it, and it's been a blast! Barriers are for breaking, and we broke through ours in a BIG way!
But there's still one last barrier that I'm overcoming...catch me next week for part II of DolphinFeet: The Story!
DolphinFeet: The Story.
November 30, 2009
Show Me The Money! (Seriously. I can't find it)
November 4, 2009
I know a lot of people like to think of money as like, a BIG deal, but I gotta tell ya, I am like soooo thinking it's like sooooo not. I mean, yeah, yeah, I've heard money is energy, money is love, money is a tool...whatever.... but you know what I can't get over? I just can't get over how TINY money is! I mean, look at the size of a dime, or even a quarter. Tiny, right? Check out how thin a dollar bill is- TINY! Try reading the stock exchange page- everything's so SMALL! They have to blow up a check for a million dollars to about 500 times the actual size to make it seem significant - right? What's up with that?
My theory is that we are exchanging a lot BIGGER things than money here. LOVE, IDEAS, JOY, INTIMACY, KNOWLEDGE, UNDERSTANDING, SERVICE, BEAUTY, CREATIVITY, etc. So, am I taking crazy pills by thinking that focusing on little ol' money would be completely missing the point!?! Why would you focus on something so small, when sooooo much other bigger better stuff is going on? At Christmas, do you focus on the wrapping paper? Yeah it's pretty and all, but would you let it overtake the gift itself? We are capable of giving each other such huge, amazing, wonderful gifts -and capable of receiving them too- why oh why is money such a darn big deal?
I do just want to say that Money itself is not the culprit - it's TRYING to tell us what it really is. It's made itself super TINY to remind us that it is NOT the important thing to focus on. When you look at your life, look at what you are EXPERIENCING -you know, the BIG stuff (JOY, ADVENTURE, INTIMACY, etc.) And when you want to change something about what you are getting, don't change the wrapping paper! Open the boxes- go on, open them up- and change something INSIDE, one of the BIG things that you are giving and getting. Up your INTEGRITY or BOLDNESS or LAUGHTER or DANCING. See what happens to your real LIFE.
Ok, so to answer the question- why is money such a darn big deal? Well, I honestly think we are settling. Settling for wrapping paper. A lot of us don't even open the box anymore to see if there even is a BIGGER gift inside- we just look for pretty wrapping paper and gather it up. We are told there's a gift in it, and others (who are not opening their boxes either) will trade us for it. We may not even know how to open up business relationships to find the gift, or focus on what we are REALLY giving and getting at work. But if we are trading time for dollars, or work for dollars, or products for dollars, we truly are missing the point.
The invitation is to EXCHANGE BIGGER THINGS FRIENDS! Just try it: FILL up your dollar bills with something BIGGER as you give them. OPEN up your professional relationships and see what's behind the paper. LOOK UP into the eyes of the people you hand your money to each day- what are you REALLY exchanging?
My theory is that we are exchanging a lot BIGGER things than money here. LOVE, IDEAS, JOY, INTIMACY, KNOWLEDGE, UNDERSTANDING, SERVICE, BEAUTY, CREATIVITY, etc. So, am I taking crazy pills by thinking that focusing on little ol' money would be completely missing the point!?! Why would you focus on something so small, when sooooo much other bigger better stuff is going on? At Christmas, do you focus on the wrapping paper? Yeah it's pretty and all, but would you let it overtake the gift itself? We are capable of giving each other such huge, amazing, wonderful gifts -and capable of receiving them too- why oh why is money such a darn big deal?
I do just want to say that Money itself is not the culprit - it's TRYING to tell us what it really is. It's made itself super TINY to remind us that it is NOT the important thing to focus on. When you look at your life, look at what you are EXPERIENCING -you know, the BIG stuff (JOY, ADVENTURE, INTIMACY, etc.) And when you want to change something about what you are getting, don't change the wrapping paper! Open the boxes- go on, open them up- and change something INSIDE, one of the BIG things that you are giving and getting. Up your INTEGRITY or BOLDNESS or LAUGHTER or DANCING. See what happens to your real LIFE.
Ok, so to answer the question- why is money such a darn big deal? Well, I honestly think we are settling. Settling for wrapping paper. A lot of us don't even open the box anymore to see if there even is a BIGGER gift inside- we just look for pretty wrapping paper and gather it up. We are told there's a gift in it, and others (who are not opening their boxes either) will trade us for it. We may not even know how to open up business relationships to find the gift, or focus on what we are REALLY giving and getting at work. But if we are trading time for dollars, or work for dollars, or products for dollars, we truly are missing the point.
The invitation is to EXCHANGE BIGGER THINGS FRIENDS! Just try it: FILL up your dollar bills with something BIGGER as you give them. OPEN up your professional relationships and see what's behind the paper. LOOK UP into the eyes of the people you hand your money to each day- what are you REALLY exchanging?
Behind My Own Eyes
October 27, 2009
Someone recently asked me what my "area of genius" is. Not my area of excellence or competence, but my area of GENIUS. That's an area where you can succeed easily, without too much practice - although, of course, you "practice" it all the time because, for you, it's easier than breathing.
I immediately answered "mind reading," without thinking about it, and we both had a laugh. Perhaps it's rather a brazen thing to think about myself, but I do find myself engaging in conscious mind-reading all day long. I have come to discover that I am consciously aware of some of the exact words and images that others have in their heads, and sometimes I will even say them out loud before they do. This works wonders in my business, where I am creating custom art for clients, but in my personal life, well.... I'm thinking of getting rid of it, or at least slowing it down.
My pattern is that, when someone is talking to me about something, anything that brings up any kind of emotion, I feel myself immediately jumping ship, and jumping into their situation. I snuggle right in between their words and see their world! I have grown very accustomed to making myself right at home in other people's stories. And if I'm ever feeling a little uncomfortable in my own skin, it's no problem! I have a hundred different stories to choose from- and I'm already packed, as a frequent flyer is, so I usually just hop right into the closest story available. From there, I can care about them, feel with them, make them laugh, make them like me, and mirror them in a way that makes them like themselves more too! It's awesome!! And I rarely get complaints cuz people love the attention- they tell me what a wonderful selfless giving caring helping soul I am... ahhhh.
But I'm sure you've figured out the truth by now- jumping ship on oneself is a good way to run aground. Being in other people's stories is great and all, but sometimes you need to be in your own too. So I'm learning to turn the "mind reading" off and stay behind my own eyes more often. It appears there is some good reading material right here in my own mind as well, and I'm coming to appreciate it more and more!
So, my friends, if you are of the mind-reading-ship-jumping-over-empathizing-super-sensitive-type too, here are a couple of tips you can use to help you stay HOME:
1. Interrupt your eye contact more often with those you talk to- especially when they are telling a sad or angry story. Their eyes are your train ticket to Themville, but don't buy it! Keep yourself in Youland.
2. Turn up your less-dominant senses. If you connect most with people's voices, try to consciously notice something about how they look- what they're wearing, what color their lips are, etc. If you're naturally more visual, listen to the pitch and tone of their voice- is it varied, monotone, shaky?
3. Feel your life force inside your own body. Flood your fingertips and toes with your consciousness, and feel it quickly fill your whole body like a waiter refills your water glass- right to the very top, like a pro. Or picture your blood rushing swiftly through your veins. Then let your focus come to rest right behind your own eyes, or anywhere else in your own body, and listen and speak from there.
I know I can always turn on my mind-reading superpower when I need it, but it's been really good to practice turning it off this week!!
I immediately answered "mind reading," without thinking about it, and we both had a laugh. Perhaps it's rather a brazen thing to think about myself, but I do find myself engaging in conscious mind-reading all day long. I have come to discover that I am consciously aware of some of the exact words and images that others have in their heads, and sometimes I will even say them out loud before they do. This works wonders in my business, where I am creating custom art for clients, but in my personal life, well.... I'm thinking of getting rid of it, or at least slowing it down.
My pattern is that, when someone is talking to me about something, anything that brings up any kind of emotion, I feel myself immediately jumping ship, and jumping into their situation. I snuggle right in between their words and see their world! I have grown very accustomed to making myself right at home in other people's stories. And if I'm ever feeling a little uncomfortable in my own skin, it's no problem! I have a hundred different stories to choose from- and I'm already packed, as a frequent flyer is, so I usually just hop right into the closest story available. From there, I can care about them, feel with them, make them laugh, make them like me, and mirror them in a way that makes them like themselves more too! It's awesome!! And I rarely get complaints cuz people love the attention- they tell me what a wonderful selfless giving caring helping soul I am... ahhhh.
But I'm sure you've figured out the truth by now- jumping ship on oneself is a good way to run aground. Being in other people's stories is great and all, but sometimes you need to be in your own too. So I'm learning to turn the "mind reading" off and stay behind my own eyes more often. It appears there is some good reading material right here in my own mind as well, and I'm coming to appreciate it more and more!
So, my friends, if you are of the mind-reading-ship-jumping-over-empathizing-super-sensitive-type too, here are a couple of tips you can use to help you stay HOME:
1. Interrupt your eye contact more often with those you talk to- especially when they are telling a sad or angry story. Their eyes are your train ticket to Themville, but don't buy it! Keep yourself in Youland.
2. Turn up your less-dominant senses. If you connect most with people's voices, try to consciously notice something about how they look- what they're wearing, what color their lips are, etc. If you're naturally more visual, listen to the pitch and tone of their voice- is it varied, monotone, shaky?
3. Feel your life force inside your own body. Flood your fingertips and toes with your consciousness, and feel it quickly fill your whole body like a waiter refills your water glass- right to the very top, like a pro. Or picture your blood rushing swiftly through your veins. Then let your focus come to rest right behind your own eyes, or anywhere else in your own body, and listen and speak from there.
I know I can always turn on my mind-reading superpower when I need it, but it's been really good to practice turning it off this week!!
My New Relationship
October 15, 2009
A few weeks ago, I was in a passionate relationship. We had been together for four years, through some good times and some bad. Two weeks ago, we split up. Irreconcilable differences, blah blah blah... And one week ago, I started dating again. We've been on a few dates now, though we're both pretty busy, but it's actually going pretty great. It's possible I might have found the person I've been looking for all along... myself.
During the breakup, a friend said to me, "Maybe this will give you a chance to fall in love with yourself." My fearful mind translated that right away as, "You're going to be doing everything alone for a long, loooong time, so act like you're happy doing it." Ugh. However, being in a generally good place about the breakup, it didn't take long for me to fill up my schedule with dear friends and fabulous activities that were really for ME. And yet, although my days were full, there was still a longing for intimacy and connection with an special exciting companion.
But in my silent time, there was a new voice... it went away while I was working, or eating, or watching some good YouTube, but it was around before bed and before I got to my email in the morning. Instead of flirty text messages to tend to at stop lights, I now had an interested party in my head, messaging me via questions and ponderings. It was me, but louder now. I was rather annoyed at her at first and brushed her off as "rambly" for a day or two, just like my boyfriend would have brushed aside my-- wait a second! Was I withholding from myself the same love and attention I had accused him of withholding?! Hmmmm.
So, over the next couple of days, I finally got up the courage to ask myself out. I was acting pretty coy and playing REALLY hard to get, but I persisted. I agreed reluctantly at first, but I was also flattered and a bit excited too. This time, I'm not making any demands on myself; I just really want to get to know me better and see how it goes. This could really be the start of something great, though it's really too soon to say -- I'm just going to be open, not have too many expectations, and try to have fun with me for awhile!
How to date yourself:
1. Ask yourself the questions that you've wished someone would ask you.
2. Listen to your own answers the way you've wished someone would listen to you. Seriously. LISTEN.
3. Let your answers affect your life and change your perspective the way you've always wished someone would be impacted by what you're thinking, saying, and feeling.
4. Look in the mirror and try to see yourself the way you've wished someone else would see you.
5. Dedicate time to yourself the way you've wished someone would dedicate time to you- to nothing but just BEING WITH YOU.
6. Think of nice things to do for yourself the way you would plan a surprise for someone else... think of the look on your face if you received that! Try to do that most perfect thing for yourself, the way you would try to make someone else just that perfect kind of happy.
7. Go places with yourself in order to get to know you more. Don't go to the movies alone (booooring), go with YOU! Find out what you thought of that movie, and why, and go get a drink together afterwards to see where this relationship is really going! Don't save up funny stories till you have someone to tell- tell yourself. Out Loud.
8. Think nice things about yourself throughout the day, the way you've thought about how wonderful your lover is (aka, projected the good parts of yourself onto them ;)
9. Dress up for yourself so that when you see yourself later, you will just feel so lucky to be dating you!
10. When you think of your relationship status, cherish the wonderful catch you're dating now who's been right under your nose for so long! Doesn't it feel so amazing to have finally found you?!
During the breakup, a friend said to me, "Maybe this will give you a chance to fall in love with yourself." My fearful mind translated that right away as, "You're going to be doing everything alone for a long, loooong time, so act like you're happy doing it." Ugh. However, being in a generally good place about the breakup, it didn't take long for me to fill up my schedule with dear friends and fabulous activities that were really for ME. And yet, although my days were full, there was still a longing for intimacy and connection with an special exciting companion.
But in my silent time, there was a new voice... it went away while I was working, or eating, or watching some good YouTube, but it was around before bed and before I got to my email in the morning. Instead of flirty text messages to tend to at stop lights, I now had an interested party in my head, messaging me via questions and ponderings. It was me, but louder now. I was rather annoyed at her at first and brushed her off as "rambly" for a day or two, just like my boyfriend would have brushed aside my-- wait a second! Was I withholding from myself the same love and attention I had accused him of withholding?! Hmmmm.
So, over the next couple of days, I finally got up the courage to ask myself out. I was acting pretty coy and playing REALLY hard to get, but I persisted. I agreed reluctantly at first, but I was also flattered and a bit excited too. This time, I'm not making any demands on myself; I just really want to get to know me better and see how it goes. This could really be the start of something great, though it's really too soon to say -- I'm just going to be open, not have too many expectations, and try to have fun with me for awhile!
How to date yourself:
1. Ask yourself the questions that you've wished someone would ask you.
2. Listen to your own answers the way you've wished someone would listen to you. Seriously. LISTEN.
3. Let your answers affect your life and change your perspective the way you've always wished someone would be impacted by what you're thinking, saying, and feeling.
4. Look in the mirror and try to see yourself the way you've wished someone else would see you.
5. Dedicate time to yourself the way you've wished someone would dedicate time to you- to nothing but just BEING WITH YOU.
6. Think of nice things to do for yourself the way you would plan a surprise for someone else... think of the look on your face if you received that! Try to do that most perfect thing for yourself, the way you would try to make someone else just that perfect kind of happy.
7. Go places with yourself in order to get to know you more. Don't go to the movies alone (booooring), go with YOU! Find out what you thought of that movie, and why, and go get a drink together afterwards to see where this relationship is really going! Don't save up funny stories till you have someone to tell- tell yourself. Out Loud.
8. Think nice things about yourself throughout the day, the way you've thought about how wonderful your lover is (aka, projected the good parts of yourself onto them ;)
9. Dress up for yourself so that when you see yourself later, you will just feel so lucky to be dating you!
10. When you think of your relationship status, cherish the wonderful catch you're dating now who's been right under your nose for so long! Doesn't it feel so amazing to have finally found you?!
Saying No is Saying YES
October 6, 2009
I don't know about you, but I just hate saying no. I've found that it's not always an inner need to please, or a lack of discipline; my life-loving heart just seems to ache to say yes Yes YES to life!! Have you seen the movie "Yes Man"? That guy had it right--no matter what, when you say YES, you invite Life Itself to you! When you say NO....it's like wahhh-waaahhh.....bleh...... Boring. Yucky.
Unfortunately, saying "yes" all the time gets us in trouble. Marketers, volunteer coordinators, and needy friends know about people like us... if you ask enough times, eventually we will decide it was "meant to be!" and say YES YES YES! We spend lots of money, eat lots of food, go lots of places, have lots of friends, and do lots of things many people just won't do... we are the YES people. Some people think we are just pleasers who can't say no...but in fact, we are often just trusting life to bring us something good out of everything. Yes. Everything. Even if it's not normally at the top of our list to give your dog a bath, we just know that there's some sort of juicy adventure in it-- a great story is the really the worst that can happen, right? We are life EMBRACERS (Life in allllll of its forms), and gosh darn it, I like being one!
So, fellow Life Embracers, it is good to remember that when we say YES, we are choosing something. You may think for a second that you are just openly accepting what Life has brought you, but that is a rather limited view of your options. You have many many MANY options, and whenever you say YES, you are choosing ONE. You are summoning a particular piece of life. The question then becomes: which piece of Life would you like to choose right now? Which YES? Choosing one thing almost always means saying no to another, but you are always saying YES to something! The trick is to say YES consciously...
Often, when something doesn't hit me exactly right, I check in with myself to see if it's a No. But everything inside of me wants to say YES to Life, and it seems for a second that I should say YES to whatever piece of life is being offered to me right now. So, if you get a twinge of No, my advice would be to go a little deeper and see if you can hear what you're really wanting to say yes to. If someone asks you to help them with their garage sale, don't focus on how to say No to them- focus on what you are really saying YES to. Is it a Saturday morning watching cartoons with your kids? Some cool morning time in your garden? The pleasant feeling of a work-free weekend? It will become easy to choose between a strong YES and a weak yes.
PS- this is what those "No people" mean when they say that the Yesses you do give will be more meaningful when you learn to say No sometimes. You do find out quickly what you really want. And soon, if you follow your deep YES, your life is full of what you really really want.
If you are a YESser, you have been creating options for yourself for years-- you really CAN do almost anything! Now it's time to consciously pluck out the best of the best and go for it. Spend time with your BEST friends, go see the BEST movies, work on the project that makes you feel the BEST...Whatever your YES, use it to fill your life with empowering, fun, juicy, wonderful things, and let the not-so-wonderful and kinda-sorta-wonderful fall away. After all, life is really about the YES! And saying No is just saying YES to something else!
Unfortunately, saying "yes" all the time gets us in trouble. Marketers, volunteer coordinators, and needy friends know about people like us... if you ask enough times, eventually we will decide it was "meant to be!" and say YES YES YES! We spend lots of money, eat lots of food, go lots of places, have lots of friends, and do lots of things many people just won't do... we are the YES people. Some people think we are just pleasers who can't say no...but in fact, we are often just trusting life to bring us something good out of everything. Yes. Everything. Even if it's not normally at the top of our list to give your dog a bath, we just know that there's some sort of juicy adventure in it-- a great story is the really the worst that can happen, right? We are life EMBRACERS (Life in allllll of its forms), and gosh darn it, I like being one!
So, fellow Life Embracers, it is good to remember that when we say YES, we are choosing something. You may think for a second that you are just openly accepting what Life has brought you, but that is a rather limited view of your options. You have many many MANY options, and whenever you say YES, you are choosing ONE. You are summoning a particular piece of life. The question then becomes: which piece of Life would you like to choose right now? Which YES? Choosing one thing almost always means saying no to another, but you are always saying YES to something! The trick is to say YES consciously...
Often, when something doesn't hit me exactly right, I check in with myself to see if it's a No. But everything inside of me wants to say YES to Life, and it seems for a second that I should say YES to whatever piece of life is being offered to me right now. So, if you get a twinge of No, my advice would be to go a little deeper and see if you can hear what you're really wanting to say yes to. If someone asks you to help them with their garage sale, don't focus on how to say No to them- focus on what you are really saying YES to. Is it a Saturday morning watching cartoons with your kids? Some cool morning time in your garden? The pleasant feeling of a work-free weekend? It will become easy to choose between a strong YES and a weak yes.
PS- this is what those "No people" mean when they say that the Yesses you do give will be more meaningful when you learn to say No sometimes. You do find out quickly what you really want. And soon, if you follow your deep YES, your life is full of what you really really want.
If you are a YESser, you have been creating options for yourself for years-- you really CAN do almost anything! Now it's time to consciously pluck out the best of the best and go for it. Spend time with your BEST friends, go see the BEST movies, work on the project that makes you feel the BEST...Whatever your YES, use it to fill your life with empowering, fun, juicy, wonderful things, and let the not-so-wonderful and kinda-sorta-wonderful fall away. After all, life is really about the YES! And saying No is just saying YES to something else!
March 29, 2009
Surround Yourself with the Positive
-- By Mike Kramer, Staff Writer, SparkPeople
If you put yourself in a positive frame of mind, you can accomplish anything. If you can clearly see your goal, see that it's within your grasp, there's nothing stopping you. That's why surrounding yourself with positive images and visual reminders can be just what the doctor ordered.
You may already have an inner voice telling you that you can do it, that you can reach your goal. But sometimes, that inner voice could be distracted, a little discouraged or even intimidated. Sometimes, it lacks conviction. Sometimes, you need an external voice telling you the same thing, reinforcing your confidence and determination.
One of the quickest ways to boost your spirits and keep motivation high is to keep a positive picture of your goal close by. A picture or other visual of your ultimate goal is a huge motivator. Having it around all the time is a voice of encouragement whispering in your ear, helping you stay focused on the prize and energized to overcome any obstacle.
Everyone runs into a wall at some point. You're not alone if you feel discouraged. To keep it from happening, or to deal with it if it does, try these ideas:
click to see original context of this article
-- By Mike Kramer, Staff Writer, SparkPeople
If you put yourself in a positive frame of mind, you can accomplish anything. If you can clearly see your goal, see that it's within your grasp, there's nothing stopping you. That's why surrounding yourself with positive images and visual reminders can be just what the doctor ordered.
You may already have an inner voice telling you that you can do it, that you can reach your goal. But sometimes, that inner voice could be distracted, a little discouraged or even intimidated. Sometimes, it lacks conviction. Sometimes, you need an external voice telling you the same thing, reinforcing your confidence and determination.
One of the quickest ways to boost your spirits and keep motivation high is to keep a positive picture of your goal close by. A picture or other visual of your ultimate goal is a huge motivator. Having it around all the time is a voice of encouragement whispering in your ear, helping you stay focused on the prize and energized to overcome any obstacle.
Everyone runs into a wall at some point. You're not alone if you feel discouraged. To keep it from happening, or to deal with it if it does, try these ideas:
- Use positive words. Keep notes of encouragement with you or choose a few favorite inspirational words. You can get plenty of these words on the Message Boards.
- Use positive books and movies. Watch and read positive things that show you what's possible. Trade your favorites with friends. Find a hero and try to adapt their qualities to your journey.
- Use positive quotes. Check out our quote library, or keep some inspirational quote books handy. They could give you that lift right when you need it most. Choose one as your personal motto and plaster it everywhere.
- Use positive music. Let music that makes you feel good become the background theme of your life.
click to see original context of this article
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