Daily Motivator - April

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April 1

Nudge yourself forward

Just because it’s difficult, doesn’t mean it’s impossible. Today is when you can figure out a way.

Even the biggest setback doesn’t mean you have to give up. Take a look at where you now are, and decide what you can now do.

Think of all the things you wish you had done differently. Now is your chance to grant that wish to yourself.

Criticism hurts, whether it’s from yourself or others, and that’s why it can be so helpful. Let it inspire you to be smarter, stronger, more persistent and resilient.

There is one particular action you can take right now to make life better. Take that action without delay, and you’ll empower yourself to take more.

Whatever has been, whatever is now, you can nudge yourself a little bit forward. Do it, keep it up, and let those little nudges combine to greatly improve your world.

— Ralph Marston

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April 2

Timely achievements

What you can do today, you may not be able to do tomorrow. You must seize opportunity when it arrives, so you’re not chasing it after it departs.

You can’t know exactly what tomorrow will bring, but you do know it will be different than today. So the time to do what you can do today, is today.

None of your options are perfect, but at least you have access to them. That won’t always be the case.

Right now you can choose the best of those options. Right now you can work to transform them into lasting achievement.

Don’t just sit around manufacturing regret. Get up, get to work, and produce new value.

Give yourself the extreme satisfaction of knowing you’ve done all you could do. And give the world the benefit of your timely and meaningful achievements.

— Ralph Marston

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April 3

Days to come

Envision yourself in the days to come. See how much more rich and purposeful your life will be.

In the days to come, you’ll be stronger. You’re already feeling that strength as it continues to grow.

Experience will have given you a far greater appreciation for the good things you have. As a result, your life will encompass more joy, value, meaning, and fulfillment.

In the days to come, life will not always be easy. Yet in spite of that, and indeed because of that, your experiences will be increasingly worthwhile, and good.

Look forward, and see how much more you’ll be focused on all you love, on all that truly matters. You’ll live with more kindness, compassion, understanding, and generosity.

Every victory, every setback, every challenge, every effort, moves you ahead. Everything you’re living through now is adding to the richness of life in the days to come.

— Ralph Marston

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April 4

Today you can

Today is your opportunity to discover how strong and purposeful you can be. Today you can bring new hope to a difficult situation.

Today you can act with intention, with determination, with resourcefulness. Today you can offer kindness, patience, genuine care and understanding.

Today your words, your choices, your energy can make the world a more positive place. Today you can focus your attention and your efforts on supporting what truly matters.

You can sail right on past what might have previously annoyed you, worried you, frustrated you. Today you can spend your time making real progress, building new value.

Yes, you’re faced with changes, challenges, limitations, and obstacles. And yet today, even with a strong headwind, you have the persistence to move in a positive direction.

Today you can make a difference for others, for yourself, if you’ll just step forward and do it. Take that opportunity, today.

— Ralph Marston

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April 5

What do you want?

What do you want? Really, specifically, sincerely, what do you want to be, to have, to experience in your life?

How often do you ask yourself that question, and how clear are you with the answer? Because the degree to which you are clear and detailed about what you seek, determines precisely how successful you will be.

You can create what you truly desire, yet you must have a highly developed, detailed picture of what that is. You are absolutely able to have what you want if you’re willing to know and understand exactly what it is.

It is not some magical, mysterious process. It is simply a matter of directing your life, disciplining yourself to take certain specific actions and to avoid others.

The motivation to do so is not found in some clever technique that’s known only to a select few. That motivation is found in knowing what you genuinely want, and keeping that knowledge, that aim, at the front of your awareness.

Achievement is highly difficult and requires massive commitment. Amazingly, you can do it, and you will, as long as you’re clear about exactly what you seek to achieve.

— Ralph Marston

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April 6

Your one chance

This day offers time to be put to use, and treasured. Live it well, with purpose, with goodness, with strength.

Don’t let today become a refuge for empty excuses and complaints. Fill its moments with meaning, with energy, with courage and love.

You have much to do, important progress to make, objectives to focus on, actions to take. Step forward, eyes on the goal, and nurture the best possibilities into being.

Expect to get valuable results. Back up those expectations with commitment, sustained effort, and faith in the worthiness of what you are doing.

Discover the opportunities that are hidden within the problems. Adapt to realities as they continue to change, and be inspired to higher levels of innovation.

Your one chance to make good use of today has now arrived. Live it and give it the best you have.

— Ralph Marston

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April 7

New levels of richness

Make the moment enough, as it is. Allow yourself to be enough, as you are.

Maybe you don’t need all those shiny shallow things you clamor for. Maybe you could be living your dream, if you would just realize you already are.

Feel the peaceful relief when you let go of the conditions you’ve placed on joy. Know the freedom of being thankful for whatever may come.

See the great value of what you have, of who you are, of what you can do with it all. Understand the nature of the fortune that is already yours.

Treasure this time that is now, whatever it may hold. For it is a time when you can add entire new levels of richness to life.

Life is worth all you do to support it, to strengthen it, to live and to love it. And it is yours, now, in all its wonder and fullness.

— Ralph Marston

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April 8

A good experience

Do something today you can feel good about. Make it something you’ll continue to feel good about tomorrow, next year.

Plenty of things happen that you have no control over. Yet there’s always something good you can do, for yourself, for others, or just because you want to.

Bring to mind a particularly pleasant memory, and feel the warmth as it coats your awareness. Now, think what you can do today to create a similar memory that will endure for years to come.

There’s no need for it to be expensive or spectacular, in order for it to be good. You have more than enough goodness inside you, and you can simply let it express itself.

Make this a day you can always feel good about. Start with a genuine smile, and then follow the energy of that smile wherever it leads.

Give your life a good experience today. And give your world a more positive, cheerful version of yourself.

— Ralph Marston

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April 9

Keep on keeping on

You’re doing good, so keep it up. You’re making progress, so make some more.

You’ve learned, you’ve adapted, you’ve done the work, and improved on it. You’ve had setbacks along the way, and conditions have changed, yet you’ve moved forward anyway.

Now, keep up the effective effort. Now, persist and get the job done.

You’ve resisted the temptation to hide behind excuses. You’ve chosen to pay the price necessary to reach the goal.

You’re heavily invested now, so make that investment count. Follow through, continue to do what must be done, and get where you’ve chosen to go.

You’ve already discovered you can do what it takes. Just keep on keeping on, and finish your good work.

— Ralph Marston

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April 10

Difficult problems

Problems are not pleasant. That’s why they bring out the best in you, and in many, many others.

When one person finds a problem unbearable, that person works hard to get beyond it. When millions of people cannot tolerate a problem, that problem gets solved.

Good times are enjoyable, and bring about marginal progress. Difficult times, however, give birth to massive breakthroughs.

There are always things you can do to make life better. When you’re faced with a serious challenge, you actually do those things.

When you’re not happy with the situation, that’s good. Because you’re also powerfully motivated to change it in a positive way.

Difficult, complicated problems don’t usually go away on their own, but they do go away. Because you, and a whole lot of other people, do the demanding work to make them go away.

— Ralph Marston

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April 11

Promise of new goodness

With this morning, life comes to life again. Brightness and warmth arrive on the wings of a fresh and peaceful breeze.

From the dark depths of despair, hope arises. In the light of this new day, is the promise of better days to come.

There will still be struggle, yet now it will have more purpose. There will again be pain, yet now will be increased strength with which to meet it.

Feel your growing faith in the goodness of what can be. Allow new expectations to energize your vision.

Rise above the aches and anguish that once had held you in their grip. Greet life’s possibilities with renewed confidence, and a deeper love for all that is, all that can be.

Awaken in your entirety to the promise of new goodness. On this day and every day, live to bring that goodness to life.

— Ralph Marston

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April 12

Circumstances don’t care

Your circumstances are not able to know or to care what you think about them. Your circumstances do not respond at all to the way you feel about them.

As such, your complaints, your anger, your anxiety will not convince your circumstances to change. Those responses will only deplete your energy and diminish your effectiveness.

Though you can’t convince your circumstances to change, you can inspire yourself to change in the face of difficult circumstances. You can act to improve those circumstances, or improve how you deal with them, or both.

There’s no point in being angry when your anger is not even going to be noticed. You have much more powerful and effective options.

Consider, honestly and realistically, what you can actually do, then commit yourself to following through with it. Direct your energy and your actions where they will make a positive difference.

Your circumstances don’t care what you think or feel, but your situation will respond to what you do about it. Take the smart approach, and invest your energy where it will have the most beneficial impact.

— Ralph Marston

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April 13

Living responsibly

Living responsibly does not make you immune to life’s tragedies and disruptions. But it sure puts you in a better place, and gets you to a better place, when they happen.

Life is not fair. Over the long term, life discriminates in favor of those who act with responsibility.

Certainly there is way too much injustice in the world, with plenty of innocent victims. Such a situation makes personal responsibility difficult, but that does not diminish its power to enrich life.

Some people are fortunate to understand the value of responsibility beginning when they are young. Yet it is never too late to embrace more responsibility for yourself, for your world, no matter what you start with.

Even when it’s not your fault, even when you have no support, you can make it your responsibility. Persist in that choice, and you put yourself in a position of power.

How can you respond in a positive way that benefits yourself and others? That’s responsibility, and it’s always your most effective way forward.

— Ralph Marston

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April 14

Love and humility

Don’t set out to prove to the world how much you care. Just put your caring into action, letting go of any need for everyone to know about it.

You will not find true fulfillment in the praise of others. Seek fulfillment in the knowledge that you’re quietly doing what’s right, for the right reasons.

Don’t be obsessed with answering to public opinion. Answer instead to truth, genuine integrity, competence, compassion, generosity.

When you’re making a positive difference, it doesn’t matter what others are thinking or saying about you. Focus on your effectiveness, not on your image.

Life offers countless opportunities for substantive achievement, enrichment, connection, and transcendence. What a shame it would be to waste even a small moment on superficial nonsense.

Experience the limitless potential when love joins forces with humility. And let the unique value of your life unfold to its fullest extent.

— Ralph Marston

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April 15

A better way

Do you feel there has to be a better way? Then figure it out and put it into practice.

Is your situation intolerable? Then refuse to tolerate it, and innovate your way beyond it.

Every challenge is insurmountable until somebody does something about it. Activate your imagination, your passion, your desire, and do something about it.

Innovation is not just for high-tech superstars. Innovation is built into who you are, and yours to make use of in every corner of life.

Open your eyes to how much power you have over the quality and direction of your own life. Then pick a problem, choose a nagging frustration, and do the work to fix it.

Make a rock-solid connection to all you care about, to what’s most meaningful in your world. And drive the energy of your purpose skillfully forward to create a better way.

— Ralph Marston

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April 16

Everything in stride

Life will not unfold exactly the way you’d like it to. Of that you can be certain, no matter how much care and effort you put into arranging your affairs.

But that doesn’t mean you must be unhappy when things fail to go your way. Indeed, your biggest disappointments can often, eventually, lead you to your most profound joys.

Here’s a strategy you might want to consider. Take everything in stride.

Yes, plan, prepare, do the work, give your best. Then be thankful for the result, including all the unforeseen consequences.

Your fate won’t ever be precisely the way you envisioned it. Still, it is yours, it is something, and you’re better off living and enjoying it, than cursing it.

Let life be the way it has come to be. And let yourself find something good, useful, joyful, and thankful to do with every precious moment.

— Ralph Marston

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April 17

Take good care

Take good care of yourself. Take care, not merely as a concept but as a continuing endeavor, hour after hour, day after day.

What you can do, for those around you, for all of life, proceeds directly from the person you are. The quality of the person you are is fashioned by ongoing attention, care, love, and diligence.

To be your best for others you must first, and always, be good to you. The strength you can give is the strength you enable yourself to establish.

Accept nothing but the highest good from yourself, for yourself. In all matters that affect your body, mind, and spirit, choose with great care, give well, and live well.

Nourish yourself, challenge yourself, reward yourself, improve yourself, and enjoy yourself. Shield yourself from undue harm while also pushing yourself to experience, to grow, and to appreciate.

Life looks to you to keep it good, and meaningful, rich, vibrant, and enduring. Take good care, and fulfill the great potential of your unique and beautiful life.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

April 18

Treasure of wisdom

You have great wisdom, earned day after day over the years of your life. Don’t let that wisdom lie dormant, trapped in old experiences and forgotten words.

As every new day arrives, you can put that wisdom to use. As well-established in the past as your wisdom may be, it is always relevant in the present.

The fact is, you have an excellent sense of what to do, of what to avoid, of what to revere, of what to dismiss. Pay attention to that sense, and follow its guidance.

If something seems too good to be true, it very likely is. Rather than hoping that your wisdom is wrong, assume that it is right.

Your victories, your defeats, your disappointments and your joys, all empower you now to make your best choices. Life gets better when you learn from it and make good use of what you’ve learned.

Keep yourself connected to the growing treasure of wisdom that’s always yours. And keep your life going in a successful direction.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

April 19

Map of reality

What if what you’re hoping for, searching for, striving for, is already yours? What if the thing you fear the most does not even exist?

What if your biggest limitation is your habit of seeing yourself in terms of your limitations? What if you are being held prisoner by the stories you tell yourself?

What if you could embrace your most debilitating weakness and transform it into your most powerful strength? What if your most troublesome worry were to dissolve into quiet, humble confidence?

What if you could let go of your need to burnish your image? What if you would stop relentlessly pursuing your lifestyle and start mindfully living your life?

Your map of reality is of your own making, of your own choosing. Your priorities, your assumptions, the actions and results that flow from them are based on that map, on the way you perceive life.

What if seeing life in a little better light, would actually make it better? Perhaps that is worth a bit of thought now and then.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

April 20

Specific progress

It is good to have faith that things will get better. Especially when you express that faith by committing to a specific, well-formulated plan for improvement.

Yes, yes, believe in the future. Then put your intelligence, your competence, and your discipline to work in service of that belief.

What exactly is the nature of the challenge you face, of the goal you seek to achieve? What precisely are you doing, and when, and how, to address that challenge, to reach that goal?

Every aspect of your being supports your amazing, highly adaptable ability to get things done. That ability works best when you know clearly what those things are.

Fundamental to any success is a detailed and accurate description of that success. In what exact way will life get better, and what will you do to make that happen?

All progress is specific progress. Define what you must do, how you will do it, and give yourself the tools to get it done.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

April 21

Constant adjustments

No one can accurately predict the future. But anyone can adjust to the present.

In fact, those adjustments, made by billions of people, are what end up creating the future. Tomorrow’s situation will never equal today’s situation, because so many people are busy making adjustments.

That’s why pretty much nothing ends up being as bad, or as good, as it was expected to be. As events unfold, people adjust, and the calculus changes.

When something becomes scarce, people find more of it, or figure out an alternative. When a good idea emerges, people improve on it, quickly, creatively, enthusiastically.

Billions of innovative minds are motivated right now to make tomorrow better than today. The process is chaotic, not particularly elegant or efficient, and virtually unstoppable.

No one knows what the future will bring, yet everyone is constantly making adjustments to improve it. And in ways that even the most highly accredited experts could never imagine, life moves forward.

— Ralph Marston

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April 22

Accept it

You can find great peace in acceptance. When you’re not consumed with proving one thing or opposing another, you’re free to create real value.

A few issues are clearly worth fighting for, and some others are necessary to fight against. Most, however, you can simply accept, and quickly enable yourself to move forward.

There will always be plenty of things you don’t agree with. But that doesn’t mean you have to drain all your energy by being disagreeable or miserable.

Take a deep breath, and accept it. You don’t have to agree with it, or like it, or even think about it any more.

Accept it, and then you can devote your full attention to what you really care about. Accept it, and save yourself the pain of resentment, of retribution, of hostility.

Don’t fight those useless battles that will never produce a winner. Accept what has happened, what has been said, what is, and free yourself to make the very best of it.

— Ralph Marston

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April 23

Wish you had done

In a few hours, in a couple of weeks, what will you wish you had done right now? This is your chance, your only chance, to make that wish come true.

Later this month, later this year, what will you regret not taking care of today? Now is your opportunity to avoid the pain of that regret.

You know from past experience that it’s easier to go ahead and get your work done than it is to keep putting it off. Yet that realization is somehow not as compelling for the work you must now do.

So project your thoughts ahead into the future. Envision a time when the actions you can take now, have become the things you desperately wish you had done sooner.

Imagine how it will be to know you could have acted but you didn’t, to know you wasted a good opportunity. Feel the power you have, right now, to create a much more positive, desirable outcome.

Then, with a renewed sense of gratitude and determination, get going. Act today to make your future one you’ll welcome, appreciate, and enjoy.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

April 24

Envision, imagine, dream, love

The value of a vision does not depend on how practical it is. The value of a vision is in how meaningful it is.

The value of a story is not in how factual it is. The value of a story is in how inspiring it is.

The value of a dream is not in whether you achieve it or not. The value of a dream is in the person you become, the life you live, in pursuit of that dream.

It’s fine that your dream is impossible, as long as it is compelling. It’s perfectly okay that your story gets the facts wrong, as long as you get the truth right.

Within you, there are no rules, no constraints on what you can imagine, and feel, and love. No limits exist on the magnificent castles you can build with such freedom.

The richness you nurture within, also finds its way out into your life, into your world. Envision, imagine, dream, love, without restraint, and be stronger, inspired, and highly motivated in everything you do.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

April 25

Long way to go

You can’t do all that must be done. Yet you can do something.

So go ahead, and do something, now, and whenever you can. Don’t let the overwhelming nature of the challenge compromise your ability to make real, meaningful progress.

You’ll never learn every detail you’d like to know. Yet you can always learn something, and then learn more.

There’s always room for improvement. So go ahead and improve, yourself, your world, the lives of those around you.

Though you won’t ever have all the answers, you can find more and more each day. When the road ahead is long, steep, and winding, take the next step.

In fact, choose to be thankful that you have a long way to go. And with love, with purpose, with curiosity and enthusiasm, keep going.

— Ralph Marston

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April 26

Do what you can do now

You can’t get it all done right away. Yet you can get some of it done right now.

You can’t immediately get the whole way there. But you certainly can take the first step.

The entire process of achievement is difficult and complicated. Fortunately, you can break it down into as many small pieces as necessary.

Every book that’s ever been published was written one word at a time. If you can write one word, and if you commit yourself to keep going, you can write a book.

If you can lay one brick, you can build a tower. If you can walk one foot, you can walk a thousand miles.

All that’s necessary for now, is to do what you can do now. Keep it up, and get yourself precisely where you choose to go.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

April 27

Sustainable success

Here’s a question to ask yourself when choosing between different options. Which option will make life better for the most people for the longest period of time?

How will your choice impact other people? How will your choice play out in the future?

Does your choice feel good in the moment, but with a price to pay in the future? If so, there’s a better choice.

Does your choice benefit you, but at the expense of other people? Repeated choices like that will alienate you, and make your life increasingly difficult.

Sustainable success is possible only when you have respect for the future and for the people living there. Without that respect, any gains you experience will quickly vanish.

You can’t control the passage of time or the actions of other people. Yet by making well-considered choices, you’ll solidly align them both with your own success.

— Ralph Marston

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April 28

Journey on

You’ve taken a long journey to get where you are. Give yourself some respect for all that effort.

Realize how strong your experiences have made you. Think of all you can now do with that strength.

Feel the confidence of knowing how many challenges you’ve successfully worked through. Point that confidence forward, to transcend current challenges, to reach new meaningful goals.

After every setback, you find a way to keep going. From every achievement, you carry new value, hope, and energy into the future.

It certainly has never all been easy, and yet you’ve experienced much goodness, joy, and fulfillment along the way. Now you’ve established more momentum than ever before, to continue your journey through life’s great richness.

Look back for a moment with appreciation, and feel the full power of that momentum. Then look ahead with fresh enthusiasm, and continue to journey on.

— Ralph Marston

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April 29

Pay attention

Life offers treasures in every moment. Pay attention, and bring the value of those treasures into your life.

Listen carefully, respectfully to what people say, especially if you disagree with them. You have the opportunity to benefit from another person’s entire lifetime of experience, so listen, and learn.

Take in the endless richness of the world around you. See the beauty that’s always there, watch for the dangers, attune yourself to the possibilities.

Your thoughts, your sensations, your values sit firmly at the center of your awareness. Yet there is infinitely more to life than your own limited concerns.

Make the smart choice to direct your awareness outward. Don’t get so caught up in your own thoughts and feelings that you ignore the immense value and wisdom outside you.

Pay attention to what has happened, to what is going on, to what can be. And you’ll greatly expand your opportunities for a rich and fulfilling life.

— Ralph Marston

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April 30

Choose courage

Courage is not some magic power that’s only available to superheroes. Courage is a choice that’s available to anyone, at any time.

The world is filled with challenges. Those challenges become especially acute whenever you seek to move forward.

Any kind of progress demands that you work through challenges. Courage is the willingness to do that, to accept the risk so you can achieve the reward.

Certainly it is foolish to seek unnecessary, unproductive risk. Yet it is just as foolish to think you can thrive without ever encountering any challenge or risk at all.

Courage is not a matter of being foolish or irresponsible. Courage is taking calculated risks to produce meaningful rewards.

With love, with awareness, with purpose, with care, choose courage. Step up to the challenges, and do your part to make life better for all who live it.

— Ralph Marston