"Without involvement, there is no commitment. Mark it down, asterisk it, circle it, underline it. No involvement, no commitment."
Stephen Covey
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Creative Ways to Be Your Own Best Valentine
© 2006 Julie Jordan Scott

Some of us didn't have our own "Valentines" this year. I told my children they were my Valentines but they didn't buy it!

It got me to thinking - probably the best way to insure a Happy Valentine's Day is to be your Own Best Valentine.

Here are some ideas to get you started -


Laugh, deep - from the belly - rent a comedy DVD, go to a bargain matinee, watch Comedy Central, hang out with a hilarious friend you rarely see, go to the park and watch little kids play.

Send a request to your friends asking them to write you a note showcasing the Top 3 Things that are cool about YOU.

Go get a manicure or pedicure, and bring a buddy along if you want to chat.

Go to a favorite outdoor spot with a book of poetry and spend at least 30 minutes reading aloud to yourself.

Take a long, sensual bath complete with scented oils (Jasmine and Vanilla are my favorites), candles and music.

Call an old friend out-of-the-blue.

Forgive someone who has hurt you

Flirt with someone, anyone - even simply your reflection in the mirror if no one else is appealing!

Give a heartfelt compliment to someone who would never expect it.

Ask your closest friend to do something outrageous for you.

Go to an art museum and get completely absorbed in a single painting or sculpture.

Bring your neighbors a small plant or flowers for no reason just so you can receive the enjoyment of watching their faces when you give it to them.

Invite someone out to lunch - and be sure to treat.

Go fortune hunting in a thrift store.

Make a Dream Collage.

Sign up for a "Just-for-fun" class - don't just talk about it - DO IT! (Note - this one changed my life!)

Go play on the swings at your closest park.

Send your parents flowers.

Have a "Gossip-Free" Day.

Take a nap.

Look at photos of yourself - really look - and check yourself out from a renewed perspective.

Buy a piece of clothing that is just a slight edge outside of your usual clothing selection and then wear it with elegance.

Give yourself a box of chocolates and then share it.

Make a list of what would make you feel especially good and do ONE every day... when you have done everything on your list, begin again.

Make each choice throughout your day a CONSCIOUS choice -

Sit and smile for 60 seconds every hour, making smiling a spiritual practice, so to speak. It will change your whole day with very little effort.

Be frivolous.

Create a painting or sculpt something.

Feed ducks at the nearest place ducks congregate.

Give yourself flowers.

Write yourself a love letter

Make a list entitled, "The Top 10 Things I Love About Me"

Finally - forgive someone - especially forgive YOURSELF....
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"Tell me, and I'll forget. Show me, and I'll remember. Involve me, and I'll learn."
Marla Jones
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Mountain of experience
You stand today at the top of a mountain. It is the mountain of your own experience. Through the years, you have forged ahead on its craggy pathways. Each day you've added valuable experience to your life and have climbed to an even higher perspective than the day before.

Along the way, you have found moments of peace and beauty in the green valleys and still forests. At other times, you have been challenged by the fierce storms and rocky ground as you made your way forward.

This is the moment that all the other moments have been leading up to. Now you stand at the summit on your mountain of experience, and the view is more expansive than it has ever been.

Never has your experience been as extensive or as valuable as it is right now. So what will you do with it all?

Now that you've climbed to the highest peak ever, choose to live a full and positive life, worthy of all you've already been through. Now that you've climbed so high, this is your moment to go even higher.

Ralph Marston
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"Good people are found not changed. Recently I read a headline that said, 'We don't teach people to be nice. We simply hire nice people.' Wow! What a clever short cut."
Jim Rohn

"No kind action ever stops with itself. One kind action leads to another. Good example is followed. A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees. The greatest work that kindness does to others is that it makes them kind themselves."
Amelia Earhart
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A Little Boy and God

A little boy wanted to meet God. He knew it was a long trip to where God lived, so he packed his suitcase with Twinkies and a six-pack of root beer and he started his journey.

When he had gone about three blocks, he met an old woman. She was sitting in the park just staring at some pigeons. The boy sat down next to her and opened his suitcase. He was about to take a drink from his root beer when he noticed that the old lady looked hungry, so he offered her a Twinkie. She gratefully accepted it and smiled at him. Her smile was so pretty that the boy wanted to see it again, so he offered her a root beer. Again, she smiled at him. The boy was delighted! They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling, but they never said a word.

As it grew dark, the boy realized how tired he was and he got up to leave, but before he had gone more than a few steps, he turned around, ran back to the old woman, and gave her a hug. She gave him her biggest smile ever.

When the boy opened the door to his own house a short time later, his mother was surprised by the look of joy on his face. She asked him, "What did you do today that made you so happy?"

He replied, "I had lunch with God." But before his mother could respond, he added, "You know what? She's got the most beautiful smile I've ever seen!"

Meanwhile, the old woman, also radiant with joy, returned to her home. Her son was stunned by the look of peace on her face and he asked, "Mother, what did you do today that made you so happy?" She replied, "I ate Twinkies in the park with God." However, before her son responded, she added, "You know, he's much younger than I expected."

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.

People come into our lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. Embrace all equally!

~author unknown~
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"The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up."
Samuel Clemens
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SUCCESS IS NOT AN ACCIDENT
by Brian Tracy

Success is not a miracle. Nor is it a matter of luck. Everything happens for a reason, good or bad, positive or negative. When you are absolutely clear about what you want, you only need to copy others who have achieved it before you, and you will eventually get the same results that they have.

This is referred to in the Bible as the Law of Sowing and Reaping which says that, "Whatsoever a man soweth, that also shall he reap."

Sir Isaac Newton called it the third principle of motion. He said, "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction."

For you and me, the most important expression of this universal law is that, "Thoughts are causes and conditions are effects."

Put another way, "Thought is creative." Your thoughts are the primary creative forces in your life. You create your entire world by the way you think. All the people and situations of your life have only the meaning you give them by the way you think about them. And when you change your thinking, you change your life, some times in seconds!

The most important principle of personal or business success is simply this: You become what you think about most of the time.

It is not what happens to you but how you think about what happens to you that determines how you feel and react. It is not the world outside of you that dictates your circumstances or conditions. It is the world inside you that creates the conditions of your life.
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"You've achieved success in your field when you don’t know whether what you are doing is work or play."
Warren Beatty

"By focusing on positive, healthy motivations and letting the more negative ones pass, you can purify the source of you imaginative power."
Denis Waitley
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Heeeeeere's JOHNNY!
By Ron White

One of my fondest childhood memories is watching The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. When I was seven years old, I would get a tape recorder and put it against the television and record Johnny's monologue. I remember running into my parent's room because I wanted my mom to come and listen to the 'funny man.' When she walked into the living room, she did laugh. However, it was not at Johnny Carson - instead she laughed that her seven year old son was convinced he had discovered Johnny before anyone else in the family!

Perhaps it should be of no surprise that, decades later, I make my living delivering monologues, much like my childhood mentor. Although, I am a keynote speaker and not a comedian, I did originally try to be a comedian...but everyone just laughed at me! :-)

As I listened to Johnny's friends after he passed away, they all talked about what people from age 7 to 97 loved about him. Do you know what they said? They said that he:

- Let others talk (In other words Johnny was the star by not always manipulating the spotlight to himself. He let others shine.)

- Listened (Not only did he let others talk, he also listened!)

- Made jokes but never at the expense of his guests.

- Saw the value in bringing the common man on his show.

- Wanted to see others succeed.

- Was almost funnier when his jokes bombed because he just rolled with it.

Johnny Carson understood that if his guests were successful and funny that made him a star. He spent his interviews letting others have the spotlight.

Here is the life lesson:

Understand what I call the 'Carson Principle.' This principle says that if you want to make your life successful then make those around you successful.

Spend time to listen to the least among you. The 'Carson Principle' also goes on to say that if you spend your efforts to draw attention to yourself it will actually backfire and focusing on others will catapult you to success. This may not be monetary success but it will surely mean relational success. Finally, the 'Carson Principle' says that it is okay to fail and don't take your failures too seriously.

Mr. Carson, I still have your decades old monologues on cassette tape. Although I was not aware of it at a young age, you taught me a lot about life and success. Thank you and I bid you a heartfelt farewell.

Goodnight Johnny...
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"People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing that's why we recommend it daily."
Zig Ziglar
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Your direction

It may take months, years or even decades to get where you want to go. Yet you can begin moving toward that goal in an instant. You are where you are right now, and nothing will change the path you've already traveled. Yet you can most certainly and most completely change where you are going.

Choose to follow a positive direction, and whatever your current situation may be, it is instantly and significantly improved. Once your focus is on creating a positive reality for your world, that reality begins to take shape.

Though the challenges ahead may be many, they are no match for the power of your intention. To activate that power right now, point yourself in a positive direction.

The next step you take is yours to decide. And whatever that next step may be, it is the step that will determine your direction.

At any time, no matter what the situation, your direction is yours to choose, and becomes real the instant you act on it. Make your direction a positive, fulfilling one, right now, and always.

Ralph Marston
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"You don't have to be a fantastic hero to do certain things - to compete. You can be just an ordinary chap, sufficiently motivated to reach challenging goals."
Edmund Hillary

"The next time it begins to rain... lie down on your belly, nestle your chin into the grass, and get a frog's-eye view of how raindrops fall... The sight of hundreds of blades of grass bowing down and popping back up like piano keys strikes me as one of the merriest sights in the world."
Malcolm Margolin
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Instructions For Life
Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
When you lose, don't lose the lesson.
Follow the three R's:
Respect for self
Respect for others and
Responsibility for all your actions.
Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.
Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.
Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
Spend some time alone.
Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values.
Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer
Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll be able to enjoy it a second time.
A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life. Do all you can to create a tranquil, harmonious home.
In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don't bring up the past.
Share your knowledge. It's a way to achieve immortality.
Be gentle with the earth.
Once a year, go someplace you've never been before.
Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.
Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.
18.Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.
author unknown
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"The world is full of poetry. The air is living with its spirit; and the waves dance to the music of its melodies, and sparkle in its brightness."
Percival
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What you choose
You can make it happen when you truly choose to do so. You always have, and you always will. If something is important enough to you, you'll surely find a way. Look back on your life up to this point, and you'll see a manifestation of what you've cared most about.

Now take a look at what you care most about in this very moment. Those are the things you will give your energy and attention to, and those are the things that will surely happen for you.

You are plenty capable of pushing yourself relentlessly toward what you choose. For you do it every day and you've had a lifetime of practice.

The big question is this. What exactly do you choose?

Whatever it is, whatever you truly care about in your heart of hearts, you'll find a way to make it real. With that in mind, always choose the very best you can imagine.

Ralph Marston
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"The only way to live is to accept each minute as an unrepeatable miracle, which is exactly what it is - a miracle and unrepeatable."
Margaret Storm Jameson

"The ability to adapt is everything!"
Denis Waitley
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Singing Is...
2005 Julie Jordan Scott

"Singing is like praying twice"

The "Real" Maria Von Trapp

There is something sacred in experiencing the lush sweetness of a heart-filled voice traveling up and down a string of pearl-like-notes, simultaneously filling the body and being birthed from the body.

When we sing, we take the words and notes of a scribe and fill the words with our soul..

Maria Von Trapp got it right. Singing IS like praying twice.

It is like communion, it is like love-making, it is like a couple, dancing across the stage as they effortlessly connect on a soul level. Singing is like the delicate awakening of chiarascuoro of the heart.

Yes, "Singing is like praying twice."

When we sing we breathe in, deeply - and when we are conscious singers - our breath is deliberate, treated with utmost care. What happens to your body when you take a deep breath?

It expands - it fills - it signifies plenty.

As the singer, you can do anything you want with your song - you can make it loud and intense or make your song small and equally intense.. You can make it more airy and filled with pockets of breath or you can fill it with your very essence so that its punch is more powerful than steel.

You may choose to sing-pray when you are delighted and you may choose to sing-pray when you are devastated. You may sing-pray as a beginning or invocation and you may sing-pray as a moment of closure or benediction.

I remember reading of famed opera singer Maria Callas who shared that we sing when words alone, without music, can't communicate meaning adequately. It needs to be amplified - which is what happens when we sing-pray.

Yes, Yes, Yes.

"Singing is like praying twice"
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"You can't think your way into acting positively, but you can act your way into thinking positively."
Nido Qubein
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Needless needs

You have nothing to lose, and everything to gain, by making the most of this moment. If you feel any fear or apprehension, learn what it has to teach you and then move on beyond it. Much of what holds you back is based on your fear of losing something or your desire to acquire something you do not really need. Let go of your need to need so much, and abundance will flow in to fill the space those needs are now using.

The needs you've devised for yourself can be very comfortable. And yet their comfort keeps you confined in a narrow, limited corner of life.

Choose to break free of the needs that you don't really need. Choose to let go of the cravings, obsessions, habits, worries and anxieties that do nothing but hold you back.

Remember that you're capable of quickly learning, adapting and thriving in new and different situations. There is a world of boundless opportunity just a few steps outside your comfort zone.

When you find yourself feeling that you need something, stop, step back and ask yourself if you really do. The more of those needless needs you can leave behind, the faster ahead you will go.

Ralph Marston
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"Children have more need of models than of critics."
Carolyn Coats

"Challenge everything you do. Expand your thinking. Refocus your efforts. Rededicate yourself to your future."
Patricia Fripp
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Gratitude

the mess to clean up after a party because it means I have been surrounded by friends.

the taxes I pay because it means that I'm employed.

the clothes that fit a little too snug because it means I have enough to eat.

my shadow who watches me work because it means I am out in the sunshine.

the spot I find at the far end of the parking lot because it means I am capable of walking.

all the complaining I hear about our government because it means we have freedom of speech.

that lady behind me in church who sings off key because it means that I can hear.

the piles of laundry and ironing because it means my loved ones are nearby.

the lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning and gutters that need fixing because it means I have a home.

my huge heating bill because it means that I am warm.

weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day because it means that I have been productive.

the alarm that goes off in the early morning hours because it means that I am alive.

~author unknown~
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"Nothing gives one person so much advantage over another as to remain cool and unruffled under all circumstances."
Thomas Jefferson
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Changing and steady
For life to move forward, some things must change. For life to have meaning, some things must endure. It is good to embrace change, because growth, progress and value creation are impossible without it. At the same time, it is wise to be wary and careful with change, for a solid, steady foundation contributes greatly to life.

In fact, new and valuable changes are made possible by the very fact that some things do not change. When the ground beneath your feet holds steady, you can reliably build many new and useful things upon it.

Make the most of the opportunities to change, to grow, to improve, and to move forward into new territory. At the same time, protect and preserve the fundamental, enabling values upon which your life is built.

A successful, fulfilled life is at the same time changing and steady. Understanding what must change and what must not is a key life skill, one that is well worth the time and trouble to develop.

Be ever willing to change some things in life while being reliably able to hold firm in other things. It is a powerful combination that will take you far.
Ralph Marston
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"With more success, comes greater problems along with greater ability to solve them."
Mark Victor Hansen

If you have knowledge, let others light their candles in it.
Margaret Fuller
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Connect to purpose
Having a purpose in life is a lot of work. It is also an absolute necessity. It is tempting to run from, hide from or avoid purpose, because real purpose brings with it the possibility for discomfort, disappointment and even tragedy. Yet the far greater tragedy is a life with no purpose at all.

Life without purpose is misery, even if you are surrounded with every material comfort and pleasure imaginable. Life with purpose is sweet and fulfilling, even when there is much difficulty and challenge.

Where there is purpose, there is energy. Actions directed toward a compelling purpose will create a powerful momentum that lines up events and circumstances in your favor.

Purpose gives you a reason to get going each day and strengthens your determination to persist when the going gets tough. Purpose pushes you firmly toward your highest level of accomplishment.

Connect, and continually re-connect yourself with a meaningful purpose. And that purpose will connect you with the best of life's treasures.

Ralph Marston
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In every person who comes near you look for what is good and strong; honor that; try to imitate it, and your faults will drop off like dead leaves when their time comes.
John Ruskin
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For All Of Us In A Hurry

Jack took a long look at his speedometer before slowing down: 73 in a 55 zone. Fourth time in as many months. How could a guy get caught so often? When his car had slowed to 10 miles an hour, Jack pulled over, but only partially. Let the cop worry about the potential traffic hazard. Maybe some other car will tweak his backside with a mirror. The cop was stepping out of his car, the big pad in hand. Bob? Bob from church? Jack sunk farther into his trench coat. This was worse than the coming ticket.

A Christian cop catching a guy from his own church. A guy who happened to be a little eager to get home after a long day at the office. A guy he was about to play golf with tomorrow. Jumping out of the car, he approached a man he saw every Sunday, a man he'd never seen in uniform.

"Hi, Bob. Fancy meeting you like this."

"Hello, Jack." No smile.

"Guess you caught me red-handed in a rush to see my wife and kids."

"Yeah, I guess." Bob seemed uncertain. Good.

"I've seen some long days at the office lately. I'm afraid I bent the rules a bit - just this once." Jack toed at a pebble on the pavement. "Diane said something about roast beef and potatoes tonight. Know what I mean?"

"I know what you mean. I also know that you have a reputation in our precinct."

Ouch! This was not going in the right direction. Time to change tactics. "What'd you clock me at?"

"Seventy-one. Would you sit back in your car, please?"

"Now wait a minute here, Bob. I checked as soon as I saw you. I was barely nudging 65." The lie seemed to come easier with every ticket.

"Please, Jack, in the car."

Flustered, Jack hunched himself through the still-open door. Slamming it shut, he stared at the dashboard. He was in no rush to open the window. The minutes ticked by. Bob scribbled away on the pad. Why hadn't he asked for a driver's license? Whatever the reason, it would be a month of Sundays before Jack ever sat near this cop again.

A tap on the door jerked his head to the left. There was Bob, a folded paper in hand. Jack rolled down the window a mere two inches, just enough room for Bob to pass him the slip.

"Thanks." Jack could not quite keep the sneer out of his voice. Bob returned to his car without a word. Jack watched his retreat in the mirror. He unfolded the sheet of paper. How much was this one going to cost? Wait a minute. What was this? Some kind of joke? Certainly not a ticket.

Jack began to read:

"Dear Jack, Once upon a time I had a daughter. She was six when killed by a car. You guessed it - a speeding driver. A fine and three months in jail, and the man was free. Free to hug his daughters. All three of them. I only had one, and I'm going to have to wait until heaven before I can ever hug her again. A thousand times I've tried to forgive that man. A thousand times I thought I had. Maybe I did, but I need to do it again. Even now. Pray for me. And be careful. My son is all I have left. Bob"

Jack twisted around in time to see Bob's car pull away and head down the road. Jack watched until it disappeared. A full 15 minutes later, he, too, pulled away and drove slowly home, praying for forgiveness and hugging a surprised wife and kids when he arrived.

Life is precious. Handle with care.
~author unknown~
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The best thing about the future is that it only comes one day at a time.
Abraham Lincoln