We get to an elite level because we’ve done the work underneath. We get there because we RAISE OUR STANDARDS and won’t tolerate anything less than the very best. This is what it takes to be a true master.
Where focus goes, energy flows.
If you really want to be stressed, all you have to do is expect life and all the people in it, to think, behave, speak, and act the way you have predetermined they ”should.” If you hang on to your expectations, I can guarantee you plenty of stress and pain.
What’s the solution to being disappointed all the time? ... When you experience someone doing something unconscious, it’s helpful to remember that it’s rarely ever about you, and almost always just that person feeling so much stress and pressure that they have literally activated their survival mode. People in survival mode can go blind in a moment. It happens to the very best of us. It’s part of being human.
Jim also taught me that every day, you have to “stand guard at the door of your mind.” He taught me that you have to continually feed your mind with knowledge and thoughts that empower you. Gratitude, courage, faith, determination, compassion and love — these are the emotions that we must nurture.
Forgiveness is true freedom from stories of our past and from the pain, rage, and anger that can eat away at our mind and body.
To be truly free and happy in this life, we must give up our expectations. Our biggest problem may very well be the belief that we are not supposed to have problems! Our power is in our problems as they unleash our resourcefulness and cause us to grow in order to respond consciously and compassionately to them.
I can tell you, it’s the people who give up the story of what happened to them and find a higher meaning who are the ones who lead, grow, give, and experience life’s deepest joy and fulfillment.
So, I’ve found the best formula for a great life is to: Trade your expectations for appreciation. The moment you do, your whole world transforms.
We will always carry anger and hurt in our hearts as long as we have expectations of other people and life conditions we can’t control.
Forgiveness is really an understanding that the only person you hurt when you’re upset (no matter how justified it may be) is yourself. Even if everything in you wants to blame someone else, consider giving yourself the gift of forgiving your expectations.
What’s interesting is that we are incapable of being angry and grateful simultaneously.
Most people are not good at forgiveness but they’re good at blame. It’s human nature. So I suggest we put our strength to good use. If you’re going to blame someone for all your pain, then you’ve got to blame them for all your joy, too. If you’re going to blame God for all your tragedies, you’ve got to blame God for all your gifts. If you’re going to blame your parents for being so terrible, you’ve got to blame them for the strength it gave you later on.
It’s an illusion that someone accepting blame, or offering an apology is going to solve or fix what actually happened. The only thing that’s going to solve things is deciding to free yourself from the story of what happened to you and take hold of the truth that all things are made new through faith in a higher purpose.
I first saw Jim speak when I was 17, and he introduced me to a new way of thinking. He taught me that if you want anything to change, you must change. If you want things to get better, you’ve got to get better. And that the secret of life is working harder on myself than on the job, or a specific skill, or anything else. Jim taught me that as soon as I committed myself to excellence, I would really have something to give others.
If you’re feeling stressed or helpless, change your body’s state — get outside and take a walk, or jump in the pool (or better yet the ocean) — because every emotion and symptom you feel is directly correlated with what you do with your body.
The secret to massively accelerating the quality of your life is to learn from the people that you find to be the teachers and more importantly, the doers in the world. Many people talk, my advice is model the few who don’t just talk, but actually do.
Forgiveness is the gift you give yourself, not a gift you give someone else.
I believe life is constantly testing us for our level of commitment, and life's greatest rewards are reserved for those who demonstrate a never-ending commitment to act until they achieve. This level of resolve can move mountains, but it must be constant and consistent. As simplistic as this may sound, it is still the common denominator separating those who live their dreams from those who live in regret.
Add more value than anyone else does, and you'll have a chance to win.
The secret of success is learning how to use pain and pleasure instead of having pain and pleasure use you. If you do that, you're in control of your life. If you don't, life controls you.
Our power is in our problems as they unleash our resourcefulness and cause us to grow in order to respond consciously and compassionately to them.
By contrast, when YOU appreciate whatever life or people bring you, you are choosing to guarantee openness and invite the joy that young children have … before we spoil them with giant birthday parties and create unrealistic expectations that life and people all exist to meet their desires and needs.
Our biggest problem may very well be the belief that we are not supposed to have problems!
When did you forgive even before someone said they were sorry? When can you choose to forgive without requiring an apology, or any conditions, or even a change of heart? Where can you own a higher meaning and finally set yourself free? How can you just let it go? It all goes back to trading in those useless expectations. And one way to get in the habit of this is through activating gratitude. ... What’s interesting is that we are incapable of being angry and grateful simultaneously.
So much anger, frustration, rage, hurt, depression, and sadness burns from expecting people to be loving, generous, courteous, compassionate, proactive, present, supportive, caring, etc. ... and if your well being is based on those acquaintances acting a certain way back to you, you simply will not have much well-being.
...people are rewarded in public for what they continuously practice in private.
Repetition is the Mother of Skill.
The people who get it, the true masters, are rewarded in public what they practiced in private for a very long time.
All personal breakthroughs begin with a change in beliefs.
You have to see the weeds so you can rip them out.
But you already know how difficult and costly it can be trying to make time for vacations. However, taking time to make lasting memories with the ones that you love is vital to living a fulfilled life. It’s not the amount you can afford to spend – or even the health of your bank account – that determines your wealth. It’s the magic moments that you create and the gratitude you cultivate that determines your wealth.
Because a story is not a monologue, it’s a dialogue.
Nelson Mandela is often quoted as saying, “Forgiveness liberates the soul. It removes fear…Resentment is like drinking poison and hoping it will kill your enemies.” He said, “As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew that if I didn’t leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I’d still be in prison.”