Daily Motivator - January

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January 1

Begin

Gather together all the wisdom you have gained, and resolve to put it to good use. Wrap your thoughts around all that matters in life, and begin.

For the first time, for the tenth time, for the two thousand and sixteenth time, begin to do what you know you must do. Climb over the obstacles, sit astride the challenges, harness the power of passion, and go forward into the future.

Things are not perfect, but that has never stopped you. Life can be confusing, yet as you step confidently ahead you know you can figure out what to do next.

Your dreams call to you, and your goals for this day, this month, this year urge you on. Begin, quickly, decisively, and give yourself the advantage of putting time in your favor.

By now you've officially outgrown the flimsy excuses and shiny distractions. Be strong, and begin.

You've seen time pass and you know what you can do with it. Begin, and make the time ahead the best time ever.

Ralph S. Marston

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January 2

Offer your best

Demanding what you want generates friction and resistance. Offering what you have creates value.

It is nearly impossible to get anyone to care about what you want. What gets noticed, valued, appreciated, spread far and wide, is what you have to offer.

Making life all about yourself is the worst thing you can do to yourself. If you think only of what's in it for you, there will never be very much in it for you.

Offer your best to the world, and you'll find the world to be a place filled with great opportunity. Focus on how you can be of service, and your own pains and disappointments will wither away out of neglect.

It is generosity that gives birth to prosperity, not the other way around. It is the willingness to make a difference, not what you get out of it, that makes life good.

Let go of all the remnants of your demands, and work to offer great and compelling value to life. You have so very much to offer, so do yourself and everyone else a great favor, and offer your best all the time.

Ralph S. Marston

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January 3

Not too seriously

Don’t take yourself too seriously. Be responsible, reliable, dependable and level-headed, but don’t get all bent out of shape when you stumble, or when the world knocks you around.

It’s foolish to ignore the problems and hope they’ll go away. Yet it can also be powerful to laugh at your troubles and to know that you’ll eventually get yourself far beyond them.

Be ambitious, focused and diligent, but don’t beat yourself up when you occasionally wander off track. When it happens, just see what’s there to see, have some new experiences, gain some new wisdom, and calmly move yourself back in your intended direction.

Do less complaining and judging. Do more laughing and sharing.

Plan well, and work your plan, but don’t act like it’s the end of the world if things occasionally don’t go according to the plan. Make some adjustments, remember to smile, and you’ll be just fine.

Much of life is indeed serious business, but being uptight about it doesn’t add any value. Loosen up, enjoy the moment you’re in, and you’ll be better able to deal with whatever comes your way.

— Ralph Marston

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January 4

Say yes to life

Life is begging you to achieve, to succeed, to live at your highest level. Every problem, every joy, every disappointment, every situation is ripe with opportunity for massive fulfillment.

Imagine what can happen when you open yourself up to more of those opportunities. Think of how life can be when you say yes to all it offers.

You don't have to hide from the challenges or let them shut you down. Say yes to the challenges, and engage your ability to transform them into strength and achievement.

Positive possibilities are embedded in everything that happens. Say yes to whatever comes your way, and be the person to forge those possibilities into great value.

Don't get bogged down analyzing how difficult or easy the task might be. Grab the opportunities life is begging you to take, and do what you know you must do.

Shout out a great big, enthusiastic yes to whatever life hands you. And transform it into something great.

Ralph S. Marston

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January 5

Brightness of the moment

In the mist of the morning you feel hope. You know this day will be more than merely an extension of the past.

As you look around in the brightness of the moment, you feel encouraged. That encouragement comes from knowing you can make a difference.

Making your way through the day and its challenges, you feel empowered. Your power is fueled by your strong sense of purpose, and your willingness to act on that purpose.

Feel hope, feel encouragement, feel power, enthusiasm, caring, love and joy. They are all yours to feel and to use in making life a more beautiful and fulfilling experience.

You cannot see around the next bend. Yet you know when you get there you'll have what it takes to make your way forward no matter what you find.

Feel the power, the purpose, the goodness and beauty of your own life, and all of life. Feel how life feels at its very best, and that is how you will live.

Ralph S. Marston

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January 6

Genuinely positive

Many other people, factors and forces determine what happens to you. Remember, though, that you can always determine what you do with it.

You do not have to be frustrated, offended, angry or discouraged, not by anything. You can be motivated, inspired, determined and enthusiastic.

There's no hard and fast rule that says you have to feel any particular way about anything. You can decide to feel what it's in your best interest to feel, and it's always in your best interest to feel positive and powerful.

Yes, it is completely realistic to feel encouraged when discouraging things happen. Somebody has to pull everyone out of the quagmire, and it might as well be you.

Even when you can't see the way forward, take a step in a positive direction, and then another. Suddenly you have established some forward momentum.

The best time to be positive and enthusiastic is when it seems there's no reason to be. Choose to feel great, act on your expectations, and you'll create plenty of reasons to be genuinely positive about life.

Ralph S. Marston

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January 7

Positive questions

Why is this the best day yet? Ask yourself that question, and before you even answer it, you're beginning to actually create the best day yet.

Specific questions point your awareness in specific directions. Powerful questions lead to powerful actions.

Just to make logical sense of a question, you have to accept that its premise is true. As such, you naturally believe a question more profoundly than an affirmation.

What is the hidden value in this moment? What opportunities does this challenge present?

Questions can work for you or against you, depending on what they presume. Instead of asking yourself why nothing is working out, ask yourself how you're able to find the value in every situation.

Get in the habit of asking questions with positive presumptions. And you're sure to point your thoughts and actions in a positive direction.

Ralph S. Marston

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January 8

Let now be now

Just let now be now. Just let the world amaze you and delight you.

Worry and regret have nothing to do with this moment. Whatever has been, whatever may come, this is where your life is, now, so put it to good use.

Share your smile, share your joy, share your laughter and your love. Discard the pretenses and excuses, and enjoy the miracle of being you.

Find satisfaction in making a difference, now, when you can. Appreciate the goodness, the beauty, and all the great things you have in life, now, when they are here.

There's very little you need, for you already have now, with abundance that stretches far past anything you can imagine. And the less you need, the richer you are.

You've invested your life to get to now. So live it, now, with all the love, attention and excellence your life in this moment deserves.

Ralph S. Marston

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January 9

Be good

It feels good to be good. It feels good to do good.

It feels good to be kind, generous, understanding, and to spread joy. It feels good to be useful, productive and focused.

You deserve to feel good today. Give yourself the experience of making a positive difference.

Yes, you can get by with being less than your best, cutting corners and compromising your values. But you won't end up feeling very good about it.

Life is here today for you to enjoy. Getting full, deep, meaningful enjoyment means giving fully of yourself.

Mere empty pleasures are nothing compared to the profound joy of living with goodness. Be good, do good and feel good about all you've done and all the great opportunities to do even more.

Ralph S. Marston

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January 10

Changing the story

It’s not really so hard to get up and get going. It’s mainly a matter of changing the story you tell yourself.

Every day you’re strengthening your habits and assumptions with the things you do and the things you tell yourself. Every moment you have the opportunity to become more energetic, more focused, more purposeful and successful.

If you sit around telling yourself that you’re too tired and that life is unfair, guess what? You’re creating a reality with your inaction and with those negative, self-defeating thoughts.

Instead, get up, move around, do something useful and caring, being thankful all the while. Remind yourself of life’s best possibilities and jump at every opportunity to have a positive impact.

Is the story you’re telling yourself holding you back, keeping you inactive and unmotivated? If so, it’s time for a new, improved story, and you can start telling yourself that story right now.

You deserve the best, so remind yourself to get busy and create it in every moment. Fill your days with positive thoughts and actions, and live the very best story you can imagine.

— Ralph Marston

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January 11

Act on the possibilities

Today you can make a difference. You've done it many times before and you can do it again.

Today is too full of positive possibilities for you to weigh it down with excuses, or hesitation, or doubt. You know what will push your life forward today, so go ahead and get on with it.

Taking action can be difficult, uncomfortable, risky and complicated. But none of those things are as painful as the regret you'll have to live with if you fail to make the most of this day.

In all of time, in all the universe, there is not, never has been and never will be another person just like you. You are right here, right now to add something unique to life, something only you can do, so do it.

Let yourself feel the sense of purpose that rises from your core. Fulfill that purpose by getting up, getting out there, and getting yourself in motion.

This is a beautiful, unique day and you can make it even more so. Act on the possibilities, and enjoy the experience of new richness flowing out from your actions.

Ralph S. Marston

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January 12

True confidence

True confidence does not come from fantasy. True confidence does not come from arrogance.

True confidence flows from a strong sense of purpose. True confidence is based on a genuine love of life and a love for the good possibilities that are always present.

To be confident, you must be honest, with yourself and with others. You must be willing to give of yourself, to do the difficult work that will create excellence.

Today's world suffers on many different levels from a lack of confidence. Too many people are too invested in sparkly, superficial things that really don't matter.

Yet the confidence necessary to move forward is always within reach. To the extent you let go of what doesn't matter, and put energy, enthusiasm and effort into what does, you become more confident, more effective.

It is time to stop hiding from the best possibilities. Invest your time, your actions, your life in what matters, and move confidently forward, transforming your highest visions into reality.

Ralph S. Marston

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January 13

Pushing on through failure

If you always succeed on the first attempt, you're not being ambitious enough. If you never fail, you're cheating yourself out of your best possibilities.

It is painful and embarrassing, frustrating and inconvenient to fail. That's what makes failure so valuable.

Failure teaches lessons you cannot ignore and won't ever forget. Failure forces you to understand who you are and what's most important to you.

That doesn't mean you must seek out failure. What it means is you cannot succeed by avoiding failure.

Success is achieved not by avoiding failure, but by pushing on through failure when it comes. If there's no significant challenge between you and your goal, raise that goal higher until there is.

Be willing to fail and you'll be able to succeed. You can do the hard stuff, and you deserve all the good stuff your persistence brings.

Ralph S. Marston

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January 14

The treasure of now

If you can't enjoy the individual moments, you won't enjoy your life. If you rush through every task and every encounter, hurrying to get to what's next, you won't get much value from any of it.

Don't waste your precious time, but don't cram it so full of activity that you render your efforts useless. Live and work at a pace that allows you to fully focus on what you're doing.

Remember to regularly take time for just being, to think and consider, to dream and to enjoy. Keep in mind that a short exchange of text on a screen can never take the place of a long conversation in person.

Though faster is better for many tasks, there are important things in your life for which slower is better. Wisely invest your time where it matters most.

Every single moment of life is a treasure. Don't abandon the treasure of now by rushing too quickly to whatever is next.

The next day, the next hour, the next experience will come in due time. For now, allow, focus, listen, learn, enjoy, be present and live this moment fully.

Ralph S. Marston

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January 15

Joy in whatever may be

Find life's richness in the grand, impressive vistas as well as in the quiet, subtle details. Let yourself enjoy what's not considered enjoyable along with all that is considered enjoyable.

Live every experience from a perspective of unrestrained gratitude, curiosity, wonder and awe. You don't have to make judgments about others or apologies for yourself.

Whatever you have in this life, make the most of it by being authentic. Though it may cause problems and discomforts in the short run, you'll never end up regretting your honesty about who you are.

Right now you are living your life, and that's a big deal. Look around, and remind yourself of your good fortune.

Drop all the conditions you've imposed on the enjoyment of this moment. Realize the powerful truth that you can find joy in whatever may be.

Embrace that joy, live it now, and pass it along with love and good cheer. As soon as this beautiful, unique moment is gone, another one has already arrived, ready to be enjoyed.

Ralph S. Marston