I was watching Oprah's Life Class and Super Soul Sunday this weekend and I am so glad I tuned in. It was completely inspirational, as were her guests: Tony Robbins, Deepak Chopra, Maya Angelou, Iyanla Vanzant and Bishop T.D. Jakes. It was a day of self-empowerment.
Tony Robbins spoke about fear and how we're all born with it. It's a protection mechanism from the earliest cave man days and the fight or flight instinct. Obviously in a real emergency situation it can save our lives. But it can also hold us back from what we're trying to accomplish.
We have all sorts of reasons for being held back or why we're not successful. It's the "story" we tell ourselves for why we don't succeed. Maybe your business failed because your competitor slashed prices. Maybe you didn't get the promotion because you wouldn't sleep your way to the top. Or maybe you couldn't compete because you weren't bloodthirsty enough, or greedy enough, or unwilling to step on people on your upward climb. Or maybe on a personal level your parents were abusive alcoholics and drug users and you didn't stand a chance.
You get the picture. We all have our story and we hang on to it like a life line. We can analyze it till we're blue in the face, which just gives the story more power. This is the enemy! The story that disempowers you, destroys you.
Tony Robbins says we need to divorce our story, just like a relationship or marriage that isn't working. Invent a new story, one where you're successful. Just like the old story, if we tell ourselves the new story enough times, we become conditioned to believe it. It's like a self fulfilling prophecy.
Here are his three "musts" for success:
- Strategy (come up with a strategy for success - have a plan)
- The Right Story (change your story - come up with a story for success)
- State of Mind (change your state of mind - act like a success, stand tall)
Do you see how we can use this to become successful?
Everything we need is inside us. We have all the tools. I'm not getting religious here, but according to Joel Osteen, we are children of God. We have God's DNA, so we are totally made of awesomeness!
Whatever you're trying to do, whether it's writing, losing weight or becoming healthy, we have the power through our mindsets to achieve our goals.
Need some inspiration? Check out these websites and the video below:
Thought For The Day
Inspirational Quotes
Tony Robbins
Deepak Chopra
Joel Osteen
Normal Vincent Peale
Guideposts
Iyanla Vanzant
Maya Angelou
Bishop T.D. Jakes
Oprah Winfrey
Leo Buscaglia
Squire Rushnell
Eckhart Tolle
The Secret
The Biggest Loser
The Mayo Clinic
FitBit
Daily Mile
If you haven't seen Elizabeth Gilbert on TED, you should check it out. It's nearly twenty minutes long, but completely inspirational:
So what are you doing for inspiration and motivation?
