Issue 2-- February 1, 2000



In this issue...

Welcome
Motivation
Relationships
Inspiration
Humor
Quotes
Did you know?
Coming next month...

Thank-you for subscribing to Living Successfully. Living Successfully is a Quarterly Motivational Newsletter designed to inform, inspire, and empower people to live successful lives----personally and professionally. Each issue offers inspirational messages and quotes, success tips, entertainment, humor and more. For a FREE subscription to Living Successfully, click here.

WARNING: LIVING SUCCESSFULLY MAY PRODUCE MOTIVATION, HIGHER SELF-ESTEEM, PERSONAL GROWTH, SELF-IMPROVEMENT, POSITIVE ATTITUDE, LOVE, LAUGHTER, HAPPINESS, AND SMILES!

Leon Shepherd, Editor
leon@leonshepherd.com
Staying Motivated
by Leon Shepherd

Every year, January 1, we enthusiastically and confidently declare, " This is my year! This year I'm going to do it!" Whether its, losing weight, starting our business,letting go of a bad habit, etc..It seems that at the beginning of the year we are more energized and motivated to achieve the goals we've set. However, within a few months, and often times within a few weeks or less, we give up on our goals. We lose our desire, we're no longer motivated. What happened to our motivation? Webster defines motivation as ''an inner drive that causes one to act.'' Without this inner drive or motivation, there is no passion or purpose. Setting the goal is a start, but staying motivated is the key to achieving the goal. So how do we stay motivated?

VISUALIZE. The best vitamin you can have is the vision vitamin. When people take vitamin V, they are motivated and revitalized daily. A big vision will help you to overcome any obstacle, but a small vision or no vision at all will cause the smallest of obstacles to trip you up and keep you from achieving your goals.

REASONS. Reasons are the why we want to achieve our goals. Write down at least five reasons for each goal you want to achieve. Make sure they are strong reasons. Every day or anytime you need motivation, review your reasons to remind yourself why you must not give up until you achieve your goals.

ACTION. Divide your goals into small accomplishable steps. Take at least one step everyday towards the achievement of your goals. By taking action everyday, you will eventually see progress and progress will keep you motivated.

START! Webster defines start as to go into action, to begin. Often times instead of taking action, we delay, procrastinate, or make excuses. To successfully start your plan, divide your goals into smaller workable steps. Make the first step the easiest to accomplish. This will build your confidence and give you an incentive to keep on going. Make sure you stay on pace by measuring your progress along the way.

SET A DEADLINE. Once you set a goal, you must set a deadline or a timeframe to achieve the goal. Whether the timeframe is next week, next month, etc., we have a strong tendency to push ourselves when it comes to meeting a deadline.

PICTURES. Cut out words and pictures from magazines that describe the real you, your higher self. Glue or paste the cutout elements on a sheet of paper and review them daily to remind yourself what you will look like once you achieve your goals.

AFFIRMATIONS. An affirmation is a positive declaration (usually aloud) that a fact or an idea is so. For example," I am fully in charge of my own happiness.'' Affirmations inspire and motivate you when stated (and repeated) with the same intensity of feeling you would have if you knew the affirmation were true.

MOTIVATIONAL TAPES. Turn your vehicle into a library on wheels. Time spent in our cars can be well spent by listening to motivational tapes or inspirational books on tapes. By listening to these tapes it will bring a feeling of '' if he or she can do it, I can do it too."

 REWARD YOURSELF. When you reach a weekly or Quarterly goal, reward yourself. Do something that you enjoy, whether it's going to a movie, going out to dinner, or whatever will bring you a sense of joy. Rewarding yourself for small successes keeps you motivated to achieve more.

FOCUS. Focus on one goal at a time. Conceptualize the goal in your mind. Convince yourself you can achieve it. Think about it. Obsess over it. Desire it. Bury yourself in it. Focus and you will succeed.

COMMITMENT. Commitment is the willingness to do whatever it takes to obtain your goals. A true commitment is a heartfelt promise to yourself from which you will not retreat. Commitment will keep you motivated. Begin today to commit to your dreams and your goals.
Success Quotes

Success doesn't come to you, you go to it. - Marva Collins

When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one that has opened for us. - Helen Keller

People should start dressing for success before they're successful, not after! - Will Smith

The man who does not read books has no advantage over the man who can't read them. - Mark Twain

The ladder of success is never crowded at the top. - Florence Griffith Joyner

Success is a journey, not a destination. - Arthur Ashe

A man's mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions. - Oliver Wendell Holmes

Each of us should make the most of our lives. We should give our best. We should use our lives more wisely to chase our dreams, find our true purpose, and be as happy and successful as possible. - Malcolm X

I have used visualization techniques for as long as I can remember. I always visualized my success. - Michael Jordan

This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. - Psalms, 118:24
Eating just a small amount of fish may significantly reduce your chance of having a heart attack. A 30-year study of more than 1,800 men found that those who ate as little as 7oz. of fish a week had a 40% lower risk of fatal heart attack than those who ate no fish. Researchers believe that all kinds of fish are beneficial, including canned tuna and salmon. They advise people to have at least two servings of fish a week in their diets.(Martha L.Daviglus,MD)

Milk is usually safe to drink up to seven days after the sell-by date. The date tells the retailer when to take the milk off the shelf. It is not the last date on which the milk is fresh. Caution: If milk smells sour, discard it--even though sour milk will usually not make you sick. (Donna Scott,MS,food-safety specialist)

Calorie readouts on exercise machines are frequently unreliable. They often overestimate calories burned by up to 30%, and may not accurately measure workout intensity either. (Richard Cotton,exercise physiologist)

In a lifetime, the average American spends five years waiting in line, two years trying to reach people by telephone, one year searching for misplaced objects, eight months opening junk mail and six months at traffic lights.

Leon Shepherd
Editor/Publisher
Living Successfully
Website: http://www.leonshepherd.com
E-Mail: leon@leonshepherd.com
10 Tips For Finding and Keeping a Loving Relationship (Part 2)
by Dr. Tara Fields

Dr. Lara Fields is Seattle's "Love Doctor" listened to on "The Buzz", KIRO-FM.

If you're stuck in a power struggle or conflict:

6. DO be empathetic to your partner. Put aside for the moment your need to be right and put yourself in your partner's shoes to understand their point of view. Being understanding and validating your partner's feelings does not mean you have to agree with them. Nor does it mean you have to give up on getting your own needs met. Often feeling understood will mean more to your partner than being right or winning the battle.

7. DO focus on what you would like from your partner and what they have done right -- instead of what they have done wrong. Be specific. For example: ''I felt cared for when you cleaned the kitchen and watched the kids so I could take a bath and relax last Thursday night.''

Here are some final points on what a healthy relationship looks like:

8. Your love is returned. The person loves you back. You're not involved with somebody you're trying to get to love you.

9. You don't feel like you're walking on eggshells. If you have a tight feeling in your stomach, that's not love, that's you trying to get approval.

10. A healthy relationship increases your self-esteem.

''To be in an intimate relationship, couples need to expose their authentic self. That entails being vulnerable and showing some emotional courage. People are often afraid of revealing who they really are for fear that they will not be accepted. A healthy relationship occurs when two people feel safe revealing their true selves to one another.''

Let It Go!!!

Let it go in 2000! If you are holding on to something that doesn't belong to you and it was never intended for your life, then you need to let it go.....LET IT GO!!! If you are holding on to past hurts and pains .....LET IT GO!!! If someone can't treat you right, love you back and see your worth.....LET IT GO!!! If someone has angered you.....LET IT GO!!! If you are holding on to some thoughts of evil and revenge....LET IT GO!!! If you are involved in a wrong relationship or addiction.....LET IT GO!!! If you are holding on to a job that no longer meets your needs or talents....LET IT GO!!! If you have a bad attitude.....LET IT GO!!! If you keep judging others to make yourself feel better....LET IT GO!!! If you're stuck in the past and God is trying to take you to a new level.....LET IT GO!!! If you are struggling with the healing of a broken relationship....LET IT GO!!! If you keep trying to help someone who won't even try to help themselves.....LET IT GO!!! If you're feeling depressed and stressed.....LET IT GO!!! If there is a particular situation that you are so used to handling yourself and God is saying ''take your hands off of it'', then you need to.....LET IT GO!!! Let the past be the past.....Forget the former things....Do a new thing!....LET IT GO in 2000!!!

Have a blessed day!


Remembering (humor)

An 80 year old couple was having problems remembering things, so they decided to go to their doctor to get checked out to make sure nothing was wrong with them.

When they arrived at the doctor's, they explained to the doctor about the problems they were having with their memory. After checking the couple out, the doctor tells them that they were physically okay but might want to start writing things down and make notes to help them remember things. The couple thanked the doctor and left.

Later that night while watching TV, the old man got up from his chair and his wife asks, '' Where are you going?''

He replies, '' To the kitchen.''

She asks, ''Will you get me a bowl of ice cream?''

He replies, ''Sure.''

She then asks him, ''Don't you think you should write it down so you can remember it?''

He says, ''No, I can remember that.''

She then says, ''Well I also would like some strawberries on top. You had better write that down cause I know you'll forget that.''

He says, ''No, I can remember that.''

She then says, ''Well I also would like whip cream on top. I know you will forget that so you better write it down.''

With irritation in his voice, he says, ''I don't need to write that down, I can remember that.'' He then fumes into the kitchen.

After about 20 minutes he returns from the kitchen and hands her a plate of bacon and eggs.

She stares at the plate for a moment and says, ''You forgot my toast.''


Coming up in the March issue will be a feature titled,'' The ABC's of Success.'' The issue will also have a ''Trivia Quiz,'' as well as other great ideas on how to live successfully.
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