It's got to come from the heart

I heard a great song on the radio the other day. I think it was by Kathy Mattea. The chorus went something like this:

You've got to sing like you don't need the money,
You've got to love like you'll never get hurt,
You've got to dance like nobody's watching,
It's got to come from the heart if you want it to work.

The song was from the perspective of a daughter remembering advice about "life" that her father had given her. In those four short lines of the chorus, there's a lot of great advice.

You've got to sing like you don't need the money

If you act like you desperately need money, you're going to have approximately zero success in network marketing. People simply aren't attracted to desperation. How do you feel when you see someone on the street corner with a sign that says "Homeless, Hungry, Please Help"? If that person came to you with a business opportunity, would you be interested? Now what if that same person, with the same business opportunity, showed up in a shiny, new Lincoln Town Car? Would you be more interested? But you don't have to go blow a lot of money on a fancy car just to get respect. What's more important is your attitude. If you're always whining and complaining about not having enough money, you're certainly not going to get many people to work with you. But if you develop an attitude of success, if you look at things from a positive perspective, if you look at problems as opportunities, if you have an exciting vision for the future, you'll attract people to you like magnet.

You've got to love like you'll never get hurt

You are going to have a lot of disappointments along the way. The harder you try, the more disappointment you'll have. But that's no reason not to try. Because if you persevere, you will have success. You simply can't let the disappointment get to you. You can't allow yourself to become discouraged, to feel rejected, to quit. You must get your motivation from within yourself. You must have a vision and a dream that is big enough to stand up to the setbacks that come your way. You must find a reason for what you're doing, and constantly remind yourself of that reason. If you can do that, you'll make yourself bulletproof to all the setbacks and disappointments.

You've got to dance like nobody's watching

Is your fear of "what would other people think" holding you back? Are you reluctant to try something new because you're afraid of being embarrassed? We're all human, and we all look foolish sometimes. But so what? The only people who never look foolish are the ones who never try. If you're confident in your purpose, and focused on your goals, it really doesn't matter what other people think. Dance, dance, dance, and don't worry about being embarrassed. The ultimate embarrassment is never to have tried.

It's got to come from the heart if you want it to work

It's your life

When you blame others for your problems, you give up your ability to solve them. Do you really want to do that?

No matter who may have done what, your best strategy is to take responsibility for it. Though it may be their fault, it's your life. Don't depend on those who have hurt you in the past to help you in the future. Forget about who is to blame. Focus on what is to be done.

If you're not satisfied with your circumstances, it's up to you to change them for the better. Certainly there are many things outside your control. Accept them, adjust for them, and put your efforts into moving forward as a result of your own thoughts, your own actions.

The energy it would take to blame and hold a grudge can be used instead to make a positive difference. Rather than perpetuating something unpleasant in your past, choose to leave it behind. Create your future the way you would like it to be.

Kindness

In any situation, you have a choice of how to react. When things are tense, frantic and hurried, stop and show a little kindness. An encouraging word, a helpful gesture, an offer of assistance or understanding can go a long way to turn things around.

It is easy to complain when things aren't going right. It is easy to criticize everyone and everything. But where does that get you? Perhaps a little kindness and understanding would help to change the situation. It certainly won't hurt.

People will respond to kindness. If you want someone on your side, if you want to persuade someone to see your point of view, one of the best ways is to approach them with sincere kindness and caring. It can diffuse a tense situation. It can help you to build rapport. And it must be sincere. It must come from the heart.

Try a little kindness, with no expectations of anything in return. It will improve your outlook, your effectiveness, and it might even lower your blood pressure! Put some kindness into the world and you'll like what the world gives back.

Aggressively positive

Seize the opportunities to be helpful and considerate. Walk away from the opportunities to be hurtful and mean. There will be a time the good and kind things you do will come back to you. There will be a time when the needlessly cruel things you do will come back to you. Which would you rather have coming back?

No one gains anything when you seek to hurt another. In fact, everyone loses. You cannot lift yourself up by pushing someone else down. If someone hurts you, the best response is not to hurt them in return. That only perpetuates a continuing downward spiral. The best response is to break the pattern, to end the hurt, to move actively and aggressively forward.

There's no need to let others take advantage of you. Be firm, yet don't be cruel. Look for ways to turn the situation in a positive direction. Those ways are there. Just imagine what can happen when you find them and follow them.

Needless Needs

Do you really need to win every argument? Even in the unlikely event that you win an argument, what have you really gained?

Do you really need to arrange things so that you can feel superior to everyone else? Even when you've been hurt by others, do you ever really receive anything of positive value by hurting them in return?

Do you really need all the many things that you strive to consume or possess? Do you really need to spend every moment concerned about what others will think of you?

How much of your time and energy do you spend satisfying needs that you don't really need? Imagine the sense of freedom that would come from simply letting go of the most useless of those needs.

Practice focusing your effort and attention not on what you must get, but rather on the best you can be. Real abundance comes more from quality than from quantity.

Spend less time striving to acquire and possess and satisfy every perceived need, and you'll have much more time and energy to truly live. The less you need, the more real richness your life will have.

Difficult Truths

When the truth hurts, it is tempting to ignore it or to deny it. Yet when the truth hurts is precisely the time when it's most important to pay attention to what that truth says.

A real friend is someone who has the courage to speak truthfully to you, even though that truth may be painful to hear. For by knowing and acknowledging the reality of a situation, you can begin to successfully deal with it.

When the truth hurts, it can indeed be painful. Yet if you will listen carefully, you'll gain the wisdom to avoid even more pain and to move positively forward.

When you encounter a truth that is painful to hear, that pain is doing you a favor. It is providing you with an opportunity to make a change for the better.

Take that opportunity and run with it. Be thankful that a difficult and valuable truth has succeeded in getting your attention.

In the difficult truths you will find much power. Though the truth may hurt for a moment, in the long run it can also set you free.

Even Though

Even though you have every right to be angry, you have every reason to let it go. For when you let go of your anger, you make more room for joy.

Even though your first impulse may be to retaliate, you're likely to be better off when you reconcile and forgive. After all, when you've been hurt, it makes no sense for you to prolong the hurt with your own attitude and actions.

Even though the world is often cruel and unfair, it does not have to get you down. The more fully and willingly you accept what is, the more power you have to improve upon it.

Even though many things will come along that could be frustrating and annoying, you can always choose to respond with patience and with grace. By so doing, you'll be building strength as well as focusing your energy in a more positive and productive direction.

Even though events may not go your way, you can continue to move in the direction of your own choosing. Success depends very little on being given what you want, and much more on becoming the best you can be.

Even though life has its setbacks, disappointments and tragedies, they pale in comparison to the new and positive possibilities that increase with each passing moment. Choose to fully live the immeasurable blessing that is your life, and every day will move you forward