You know that things are happening you have no control over.

When we face these types of situation, we have two choices.

We can either accept that there are things in our life we cannot change, and there are things in life we can.

One way to get yourself into positive mode is to ask yourself good questions, but here’s one that may highlight how you sometimes get in your own way of having a good time. Ask yourself, “How good can I stand it today?”

Realize you don’t get what you deserve, you get what you believe you deserve. Could you allow yourself to receive a standing ovation just for being you? If not, why not? What would you need to believe about yourself in order to allow that to happen? Remember all those times you’ve given – your time, energy, wisdom, money and love … all those times you achieved something of value – learning a new skill, whether it be swimming, typing, riding a bicycle or playing a Mozart concerto – there’s only one you, and the world would be poorer without you.

Hark! Is that a ripple of applause I hear?

Smile. It’s beginning.

Early morning is an ideal time to create some personal time for your own development. Unless you are in a job that forces you out of bed at 5am, you probably have no obligations at that time of day. Instead of sleeping until the last possible minute, try getting up an hour or even 2 hours earlier than you have been.

Use this time to appreciate the stillness of the world. Get into a headspace of clarity and focus on what you are trying to create for your life. Study empowering books and self development training programs. Write out your goals. In essence, do whatever you can to condition your mind so that you are creating the ideal life for yourself.

By the time the rest of the world is waking up, you will have already invested more time in yourself than most people will for a month. The energy you get from doing this can carry you through the rest of your day and you will be in a much more productive frame of mind.

Something like that happened to me over vacation. Although I’ve heard it before, this time it just stuck. And the phrase was: “If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always got.”

It’s so simple. And I realized for the first time, (like I could kick myself for not thinking of this before!), that in some areas of my life, what I’ve always done is think the same thoughts. Or the same style of thoughts. So I come to the same old conclusions, with the same underlying beliefs and the same doubts and fears, and guess what? Same old results.

So I resolved to train my brain. Before you can get different results you gotta think different thoughts. And you’ve got to cultivate certainty. I’m hot on this one in my seminars. Elimination of doubt and cultivation of certainty about anything … and sure as eggs is eggs you’ll get what you’re certain of.

Do it with feeling. Real emotion. Get excited, anticipate a miracle. E-motion = energy in motion. Energy in motion is life!

So it’s best to be sure that you’re not certain that it doesn’t work – if you catch my drift.

To get what you truly desire, expect it with all your heart!

Nothing is more harmful to your own growth and development than being a “people pleaser”. We all crave acceptance and approval from family, friends, co-workers, and so on. It is a natural human instinct.

Be sure to not allow your need for acceptance hold you back when it comes to your life and your dreams.

There may be new projects you want to embark on, a new career you want to start, an old friend you want to reconnect with. These kind of decisions will not always be looked upon as “positive” by the people in your life.

Ultimately you need to ask yourself, “Is this idea important to me? If I pursue this idea, will my life gain more meaning and happiness?”

If the answer is yes then you MUST act, despite any negative opinions or judgments from the people around you.

Use this day to focus on giving yourself approval and GO FOR WHAT YOU WANT.

And guess what they say?

“You can’t do that!”

“That will never work!”

“If that was true, how come everyone doesn’t do it?”

And so on. Not all of them, but by far the majority. Suddenly I am on the defensive, but ultimately the shiny new discovery is tarnished, enthusiasm wanes. I doubt.

Today I have made a new discovery on the road to peace, happiness and material wealth, and I am going to share it with you. It is this: Keep your counsel.

If you don’t, people will knock your dreams down like the tide over sand castles. They don’t mean to. They think they’re being kind. They don’t want to see you hurt. But the truth is, they’ve settled for living with disappointment. They’ve been hurt by life and they think that’s all there is.

Dream big, my friends, as big as you like. But dream secret. And when those dreams come true and your friends all ask how you did it, you can tell them:

“Just lucky, I guess.”

Which of our ancestors was bombarded a hundred times a day with news of plague, pestilence, war and suffering? Can you imagine what that does to your emotional state? You are constantly being thrown into anxiety, fear, worry and confronted with the pain of fellow human beings, or animals or the earth itself. Rarely, if ever, does the news throw up information to gladden the heart.

For this week, cancel the papers. Turn off the TV when the news comes on. Just for one week. (Are you addicted to this? Notice your resistance!). And notice how much freer you are to enjoy the life around you. Family, friends and colleagues will suddenly come into sharp relief, and their lives will become your source of interest in a way that you may not have noticed before. Your attention will be more focussed.

Come Saturday, switch it all back on – I think you may be surprised at the contrast.