If my older post "Win Anyway" meant anything to you, then I have a feeling this post will speak to you too. I think it will because you're the kind of person who knows that success in life can involve struggle. Actually, it can involve a whole lot of struggle. It can seem, at times, like it's totally not worth it at all. It can hit you from all sides and on a multitude of levels. It's mostly a mental and emotional struggle, but it can even be physically draining and exhausting. You might begin to second guess your decision to take this path, to embark upon this journey towards your dreams. You may have people that care about you, who watch you "suffer" as you continue to struggle along your path. They may suggest that you give up and choose a more conventional path...you know, because it's "easier." However, you know it's not, don't you? You know that giving up on your dream would hurt more than any challenge or setback you encounter on the way to living your dream, because at least this way you're on your way. Well, you know what I'm going to say--win anyway. Don't let the struggle turn you away. You can survive it, you can endure it. And when you do, you'll be rewarded by your dreams now being your reality.
Then you'll be living your dreams. What could be more satisfying than that? Any questions or doubts you had about your abilities have been answered...at least for now. You climbed the mountain and now you're standing atop its peak, enjoying the view. The struggle now all seems worth it, because it's allowed you to enjoy this feeling even more just by mere contrast. Many, in fact, feel they need the struggle for that very reason. At this point with your dream accomplished, the limelight shining on you, you may be asked what the "secret" is. People may want to know how you solved the riddle, so to speak. They don't want the story of your work, they just want your "Aha!" moment so that they can copy just the success part of your dream. What those people fail to realize in that moment is that it was the struggle that is the key to your victory. Your struggle is totally intertwined into the fabric of your goal. The struggle is one with the success, so there's no way to teach them how to avoid the struggle, which is what they'll want. In fact, even if you could give them what they're asking, you probably wouldn't because that would rob them of the euphoria of accomplishing their own dream...through the struggle. It's instrumental to their success, to your success, and to mine. It's nature's way, so enjoy it. That's it for now, talk to you soon...
Donovan Bradley
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Let's Get One Thing Straight...
You are not flawless. Neither am I. In fact, none of us is flawless. I live in Southern California, not too far from Hollywood, and that means I see quite a few people on a daily basis that come quite close aesthetically (maybe that's why I've always loved it here)--but nope, not a one of them is flawless. Not one, and like I said, neither are you.
I'll tell you what you are, though. You are perfect. I know. That doesn't make any sense, right? How can I say you're not flawless and then call you perfect in the same post? It's easy for me, really. You see, I don't see perfect and flawless as synonyms as most people do. For me, flawless is just that..."without any flaws," but that's not perfect. Perfect, is "just right." Meaning exactly as you are created to be by the all knowing, all seeing intelligence that some call God and that many of us believe does not make mistakes. That intelligence that doesn't make mistakes created you, and since it is perfect, so is everything it creates...including you. In fact, I say especially you. You see, it's my belief that it's our flaws which are the very thing that make each of us...perfect. We have only to learn to see those "imperfections" as assets...even if only by learning life lessons from them. That way we're less apt to want to change "who we are" and more likely to accept ourselves and love what we see in ourselves as we grow from the lessons we can learn from our flaws...and that is the key to happiness. Thanks for reading.
Donovan Bradley
I'll tell you what you are, though. You are perfect. I know. That doesn't make any sense, right? How can I say you're not flawless and then call you perfect in the same post? It's easy for me, really. You see, I don't see perfect and flawless as synonyms as most people do. For me, flawless is just that..."without any flaws," but that's not perfect. Perfect, is "just right." Meaning exactly as you are created to be by the all knowing, all seeing intelligence that some call God and that many of us believe does not make mistakes. That intelligence that doesn't make mistakes created you, and since it is perfect, so is everything it creates...including you. In fact, I say especially you. You see, it's my belief that it's our flaws which are the very thing that make each of us...perfect. We have only to learn to see those "imperfections" as assets...even if only by learning life lessons from them. That way we're less apt to want to change "who we are" and more likely to accept ourselves and love what we see in ourselves as we grow from the lessons we can learn from our flaws...and that is the key to happiness. Thanks for reading.
Donovan Bradley
Monday, March 22, 2010
Just Thought I'd Share...
This comes from a mailgroup I'm a member of called Bob Proctor's "Insight of the Day." I had to share...
There's a nice poem by Valerie Cox circulating on the Internet about a woman who bought some cookies and a book at an airport and sat down to read and nibble while waiting for her plane. She soon noticed a man sitting next to her, who casually took a cookie from the bag.
Although shocked and seething, the woman remained silent as the man, without the slightest sign of shame or gratitude, quietly helped himself, matching her cookie for cookie.
When there was one cookie left, she watched in amazement as he picked it up, smiled at her as if he were being gracious, and broke it in half. He ate one half and gave her the other. Congratulating herself for maintaining her cool, she said nothing to this rude cookie thief, astonished at the nerve of some people.
Later, when she was settling into her seat on the plane, she rummaged through her purse and discovered the bag of cookies she'd purchased, still unopened. The moral message is contained in the poem's closing stanza:
"If mine are here," she moaned with despair,
"Then the others were his, and he tried to share."
Too late to apologize, she realized with grief,
That she was the rude one, the ingrate, the thief.
Being sure is not the same as being right. Certainty without humility can lead to self-righteousness that distorts our view and understanding of the world and of people.
Humility doesn't require us to be equivocal or doubtful about our deepest convictions. What it asks is that we hold and advocate our beliefs without dismissing the possibility that others may be right instead.
This is [from] Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
www.charactercounts.org
There's a nice poem by Valerie Cox circulating on the Internet about a woman who bought some cookies and a book at an airport and sat down to read and nibble while waiting for her plane. She soon noticed a man sitting next to her, who casually took a cookie from the bag.
Although shocked and seething, the woman remained silent as the man, without the slightest sign of shame or gratitude, quietly helped himself, matching her cookie for cookie.
When there was one cookie left, she watched in amazement as he picked it up, smiled at her as if he were being gracious, and broke it in half. He ate one half and gave her the other. Congratulating herself for maintaining her cool, she said nothing to this rude cookie thief, astonished at the nerve of some people.
Later, when she was settling into her seat on the plane, she rummaged through her purse and discovered the bag of cookies she'd purchased, still unopened. The moral message is contained in the poem's closing stanza:
"If mine are here," she moaned with despair,
"Then the others were his, and he tried to share."
Too late to apologize, she realized with grief,
That she was the rude one, the ingrate, the thief.
Being sure is not the same as being right. Certainty without humility can lead to self-righteousness that distorts our view and understanding of the world and of people.
Humility doesn't require us to be equivocal or doubtful about our deepest convictions. What it asks is that we hold and advocate our beliefs without dismissing the possibility that others may be right instead.
This is [from] Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
www.charactercounts.org
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Always Remember, Anything's Possible...Anything
Whatever you wish was true in your world, can be. It can be exactly the way you want, so long as you're not afraid to believe in your vision. Fear and doubt are the biggest killers in the universe. Don't let them get you. The sign that they're getting to you is that old feeling...we call it "doubt." Don't get me wrong, this is work--real work. We live in a world full to the brim with negative influences. Get this though, it's also full to the brim with positive influences, they're just not always as obvious. The reason for this, if this applies to you is, wait for it...it's you. You see, without fail, you attract what you think about. If you think negative thoughts, you'll attract negative things to think about and more importantly, feel about. It's those negative feelings (fear based) that create the negativity that you see in your world...all of it. So let them go. Just release them. Send love to those feelings, just bask in it.
It may help...no, it'll absolutely help you to get clear about what your vision for your life is. What do you want your experience, your every day life to be. You can have that...in fact, you deserve it, right now. You won't get it until you believe it though. You must literally remove all doubt from your mind. Only then will things start to change. You must be able to maintain and sustain your positivity though. For a while it may seem like nothing's changing. There's a couple of ways to look at why this happens: One way is to take the understanding that your new faith is being tested. The other way is to take the understanding that all of that habitual, subconscious doubt that you've allowed to exist inside you for so long has to remove itself from your system before real change in your outer world, which is only a reflection of your inner world, can take effect. Thanks for listening. Talk to you soon...
Donovan Bradley
It may help...no, it'll absolutely help you to get clear about what your vision for your life is. What do you want your experience, your every day life to be. You can have that...in fact, you deserve it, right now. You won't get it until you believe it though. You must literally remove all doubt from your mind. Only then will things start to change. You must be able to maintain and sustain your positivity though. For a while it may seem like nothing's changing. There's a couple of ways to look at why this happens: One way is to take the understanding that your new faith is being tested. The other way is to take the understanding that all of that habitual, subconscious doubt that you've allowed to exist inside you for so long has to remove itself from your system before real change in your outer world, which is only a reflection of your inner world, can take effect. Thanks for listening. Talk to you soon...
Donovan Bradley
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Win Anyway...(Re-Post)
I posted this one about a year ago exactly. It was the second post I'd ever done, and it's still the most popular one, so I thought it was time to put it up again. Enjoy...
I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, "You don't know my struggle. You don't know what I go through. You'll NEVER know what I have to deal with on a day to day basis." And you know what? You're right. I don't know. I know nothing of your "deal". And still I say, "Win ANYWAY". No matter how hard it is, win anyway. No matter what life throws at you, keep coming. You can beat ANYTHING, but you can't give up if you want to win. Maybe you need to change your approach, or the tools (the job, the business venture, the self-talk, the stimuli, your thoughts, your friends, relationship style/partner/whatever), but keep bringing your best no matter what.
Think of it this way: You can let life beat you, and then have a story to tell the world. OR, you can WIN ANYWAY and tell THAT story. Which one sounds like more fun to you? Which one sounds like it's better to LISTEN to? Which one would YOU rather hear? Which one do you think will get you more attention and approval? Isn't that some of the stuff we're all after anyway? So go get it, whatever it is you're after...it's really ALREADY yours. Sure, it's at the top of the mountain and you have to CLIMB it, but once you get there, it's ALL yours. Go on, face the challenge--take it head on! Don't let life get too big to live, because it's not going anywhere. You have to live it anyway, it might as well be one you can be proud of, right? Also, many of us wait for someone to believe in us, but remember this: It starts with YOU believing in you. No one will believe in you until you have a certain degree of belief in yourself. With that I leave you to ponder your next move. I'd say good luck, but I don't think you need it. Go get 'em!
Donovan Bradley
I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, "You don't know my struggle. You don't know what I go through. You'll NEVER know what I have to deal with on a day to day basis." And you know what? You're right. I don't know. I know nothing of your "deal". And still I say, "Win ANYWAY". No matter how hard it is, win anyway. No matter what life throws at you, keep coming. You can beat ANYTHING, but you can't give up if you want to win. Maybe you need to change your approach, or the tools (the job, the business venture, the self-talk, the stimuli, your thoughts, your friends, relationship style/partner/whatever), but keep bringing your best no matter what.
Think of it this way: You can let life beat you, and then have a story to tell the world. OR, you can WIN ANYWAY and tell THAT story. Which one sounds like more fun to you? Which one sounds like it's better to LISTEN to? Which one would YOU rather hear? Which one do you think will get you more attention and approval? Isn't that some of the stuff we're all after anyway? So go get it, whatever it is you're after...it's really ALREADY yours. Sure, it's at the top of the mountain and you have to CLIMB it, but once you get there, it's ALL yours. Go on, face the challenge--take it head on! Don't let life get too big to live, because it's not going anywhere. You have to live it anyway, it might as well be one you can be proud of, right? Also, many of us wait for someone to believe in us, but remember this: It starts with YOU believing in you. No one will believe in you until you have a certain degree of belief in yourself. With that I leave you to ponder your next move. I'd say good luck, but I don't think you need it. Go get 'em!
Donovan Bradley
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Watch Your Language!
I want to talk about something that bugs me a whole lot whenever I hear it. It actually hurts my soul. It's the language many of us use. Simply put, it's quite often negative and downright ugly. I don't want to say I hear it all the time, but it's definitely not as rare as I'd like it to be. It's not profanity I'm talking about. Nor is it the language that we use to hurt others that I'm thinking of right now either, though that can be a major problem too. I'm talking about how badly we talk about ourselves.
We have to be careful how we talk about ourselves, because our subconscious minds pick up on it...and make our thoughts (which our words represent) reality. Have you ever made a mistake and said, "I'm such an idiot!"? Like I said, I hear it all the time. I even catch myself almost saying things like this...almost, but that's bad enough. I've made it my responsibility to take a stand on this with my friends, family, and acquaintances. Even with strangers I sometimes find myself saying stuff like, "Hey, don't beat yourself up." It can be easy to think it's harmless, but it's not. It seems like such a small thing, but over time those "inconsequential" thoughts add up...without fail.
Learn to give yourself some credit. Learn to accept that even the best of us make mistakes, and that it's OK that we do, as long as we learn from them. Why not give yourself some (honest) praise? Think of a success, no matter how small, a goal you set and fulfilled...a problem you met head on and solved...anything, and say to yourself, "Yay, me!" Start paying attention to what you say to and about yourself in all aspects of your life. I bet you'll find that the better you think of yourself in any specific area, the more success you'll have in your experience. That's no accident, friend. Use it to your advantage. Focus on your strengths, and praise yourself for them. When it comes to your weaknesses, here's what's important: we all have them. Get help when necessary, and believe in your ability to meet...and beat...any challenge. Thanks for reading. Talk to you soon...
Donovan Bradley
We have to be careful how we talk about ourselves, because our subconscious minds pick up on it...and make our thoughts (which our words represent) reality. Have you ever made a mistake and said, "I'm such an idiot!"? Like I said, I hear it all the time. I even catch myself almost saying things like this...almost, but that's bad enough. I've made it my responsibility to take a stand on this with my friends, family, and acquaintances. Even with strangers I sometimes find myself saying stuff like, "Hey, don't beat yourself up." It can be easy to think it's harmless, but it's not. It seems like such a small thing, but over time those "inconsequential" thoughts add up...without fail.
Learn to give yourself some credit. Learn to accept that even the best of us make mistakes, and that it's OK that we do, as long as we learn from them. Why not give yourself some (honest) praise? Think of a success, no matter how small, a goal you set and fulfilled...a problem you met head on and solved...anything, and say to yourself, "Yay, me!" Start paying attention to what you say to and about yourself in all aspects of your life. I bet you'll find that the better you think of yourself in any specific area, the more success you'll have in your experience. That's no accident, friend. Use it to your advantage. Focus on your strengths, and praise yourself for them. When it comes to your weaknesses, here's what's important: we all have them. Get help when necessary, and believe in your ability to meet...and beat...any challenge. Thanks for reading. Talk to you soon...
Donovan Bradley
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
A Life Changing Experience...
In this post, I thought I'd share with you something that changed my life, for the better, forever. I don't have any better way to describe it in one word than an "experience." It's one of the things I was exposed to in my life that inspired me to do this work and help others with my positivity and insight.
Getting right to the point, it's a group called PSI Seminars (www.psiseminars.com). Let me start by saying that I've barely scratched the surface of my own possibilities with them, but even the brief weekend work I did changed everything for me. Now mind you, I've always been someone who sought personal growth in any and everything I've ever done, so of course I'd feel that way. Just so you know, as I'm not in any formal way affiliated with PSI, I don't get anything for this endorsement, except for the satisfaction that I know I've shared something fantastic with you and potentially opened a door in your life that you've been seeking...whether or not you were previously aware. The people involved, the activities, the heightened sense of emotional and mental awareness they helped to bless me with, all of it I'll forever be thankful for...and I'm going back for more. I'm not sure when, but I will visit them again.
You see, they have a curriculum of courses designed to help anyone succeed at growing to their fullest potential. Of course it's our own responsibility to grow to our full potential (never, ever forget this), but countless people have given testimony (me being one of them) that these guys helped them in ways you can't even place a dollar amount on. The course I took was their entry level course, simply called "The Basic," and taking it was absolutely one of the best decisions I ever made in my life. My advice (which as you already know, is up to you to take or leave) is to check out their website (that link above) and see if they're worth a closer look to you. My guess is, for those of you reading this blog, it will be well worth the time it takes to look into. Bye for now...
Donovan Bradley
Getting right to the point, it's a group called PSI Seminars (www.psiseminars.com). Let me start by saying that I've barely scratched the surface of my own possibilities with them, but even the brief weekend work I did changed everything for me. Now mind you, I've always been someone who sought personal growth in any and everything I've ever done, so of course I'd feel that way. Just so you know, as I'm not in any formal way affiliated with PSI, I don't get anything for this endorsement, except for the satisfaction that I know I've shared something fantastic with you and potentially opened a door in your life that you've been seeking...whether or not you were previously aware. The people involved, the activities, the heightened sense of emotional and mental awareness they helped to bless me with, all of it I'll forever be thankful for...and I'm going back for more. I'm not sure when, but I will visit them again.
You see, they have a curriculum of courses designed to help anyone succeed at growing to their fullest potential. Of course it's our own responsibility to grow to our full potential (never, ever forget this), but countless people have given testimony (me being one of them) that these guys helped them in ways you can't even place a dollar amount on. The course I took was their entry level course, simply called "The Basic," and taking it was absolutely one of the best decisions I ever made in my life. My advice (which as you already know, is up to you to take or leave) is to check out their website (that link above) and see if they're worth a closer look to you. My guess is, for those of you reading this blog, it will be well worth the time it takes to look into. Bye for now...
Donovan Bradley
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