I almost hate to admit it but I’m a "Dancing With The Stars" junkie.  The commitment required on the part of the contestants just blows my mind.  The whole process is fascinating to me.  These regular people, most of whom have no formal dance training, are transformed into world class dancers in a matter of weeks. It is truly a metamorphosis!

With the season premiere fast approaching I thought it would be nice to share an inspirational dance video.  If you’re a Coldplay fan you’ll most likely enjoy this little nostalgia trip.   Between the ages of the dancers, their bizarre costumes, Coldplay, and the boats drifting past, this video has a somewhat surrealistic feel.

At any rate, the dancers were 25 and 84 at the time the video was made.  This lady is fearless.  Click on the link below and check it out.  It certainly shows that age is just a number!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wli0VjOmabU

In the current economic climate it’s often difficult to stay positive when every where you look stores are closing, people are losing their jobs right and left, and the once stable real estate market has taken massive hits. Many people aren’t able to make their house payments due to job losses. Even some of the ones who can afford to pay are upside down in their homes in that they actually owe more than their homes are worth. Mortgage companies are foreclosing on homes that they certainly don’t want. Stock market volatility has caused many to lose a huge portion of their portfolios forcing some to postpone retirement. It’s hard to find the positive in such trying economic times.

The other day my husband and I saw a movie that had a profound effect on me. The movie was "Slumdog Millionaire". If you haven’t seen the film I highly recommend it. It’s a story about Jamal, an 18 year old kid who wins the largest jackpot in the history of India’s version of "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire". During a break between filming, he is tortured by the local police who are convinced that he has somehow cheated on the game show. When questioned, the boy finally relents and begins to tell the story explaining how he knew each particular answer and in doing so we get a glimpe into that segment of his life. By the end of the interrogation, Jamal has given us a complete picture of his life.

The story was full of despair, hope, courage, and ultimately triumph as the young boy is finally able to achieve his meteoric rise out of poverty like a Phoenix rising from the ashes. The thing that really shocked me about this film was the harsh living conditions to which Jamal was subjected. While I’m certainly aware that there are many poverty stricken regions of the world, I had no idea that such filth and squalor were a common component of the lives of millions of people.

When we walked out of the theatre I must say I felt like the richest woman in the world. Just having the luxury of being able to go to a movie theatre is pretty amazing. If you have a roof over your head, food in your belly, and a warm bed you are probably richer than half of the world. If you have a car and electricity, then by the standards of many, you are quite wealthy. If you have someone who loves you, then you’ve really hit the jackpot!

I like to think that I’m an appreciative person but seeing "Slumdog" definitely opened my eyes. It reminded me of the resiliency of the human spirit. It reminded me that no matter what your situation or station in life, there are always things to celebrate. It reminded me of the importance of following your dreams. And most of all, it reminded me of just how important it is to realize and appreciate all that is good in my life.

This is one of those great e-mails that has gone around more than once.  If you’ve already read it, you may enjoy reading it again.  If you haven’t already read it, you’re sure to enjoy this one.  I have no idea who originally wrote this insightful little story or I would have given credit to the author.  This is just one of those stories that needs to be shared…

A carrot, an egg, and a cup of coffee… You will never look at a cup of coffee the same way again.

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her.  She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up, she was tired of fighting and struggling.  It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose..

Her mother took her to the kitchen.  She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire.  Soon the pots came to boil.  In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans.  She let them sit and boil; without saying a word.

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners.  She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl.  She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl.  Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl..  Turning to her daughter, she asked,  ‘ Tell me what you see.’

‘Carrots, eggs, and coffee,’  she replied.

Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots.  She did and noted that they were soft.  The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it.. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg.

Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee.  The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma.  The daughter then asked,  ‘What does it mean, mother?’

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water.  Each reacted differently.  The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak.  The egg had been fragile.  Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened.  The ground coffee beans were unique, however.  After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

‘Which are you?’  she asked her daughter.  ‘When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond?  Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?’

Think of this: Which am I?  Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat?  Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff?  Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?

Or am I like the coffee bean?  The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain.. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor.  If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you.  When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest do you elevate yourself to another level?  How do you handle adversity?  Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy.

The happiest of people don’t necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way.  The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can’t go forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.

When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling.

Live your life so at the end, you’re the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying.

It is not my intent to infringe upon anyone’s copyright and if I have inadvertently done so, please contact me and I will remove this post.

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The type of attitude you possess depends entirely on you. It can be either positive or negative. The great thing is – you get to choose. No one can make you feel a particular way because you must remember you are in control of how you choose to feel. When someone does or says something that you feel was meant to hurt you, that may or may not have been their intent. Oftentimes, hurt feelings are simply a matter of misunderstanding. Even if the person’s intent was malicious, you can simply choose not to let this affect you.

One of my favorite movies is The Point of No Return starring Bridget Fonda, Gabriel Byrne, and Anne Bancroft. The movie is basically a remake of La Femme Nikita and Bridget Fonda’s character, Maggie, is a lawbreaking criminal who has chosen to become a paid assassin over death by lethal injection. She is very rough around the edges so as part of her training she receives etiquette lessons. Her transformation is nothing short of remarkable. In one scene, her coach for this endeavor, played by Anne Bancroft, gives her a tip on how to control her temper. She tells her that when something bad happens or a situation goes awry to simple smile and say something like,

"I never did mind about the little things".

This is one of my favorite movie quotes and I use it quite often. It helps me to put things into perspective.

In the past, I used to let little things drive me crazy, and I must admit that sometimes I still do. The difference is, now when I feel that happening, I try to make a conscious effort to choose a positive attitude.

There is much to be gained from having a positive attitude. Studies have shown that a positive attitude promotes better health. Projecting positivity helps with handling stress and we all know that our health is directly linked to how we cope with stress.

A positive attitude is a foundation you can build upon. It would be quite difficult to be confident, outgoing, and enthusiastic without first having a positive attitude. A positive attitude supports positive attributes; a negative attitude does not. It’s pretty obvious why positive people have more friends than negative people. If you first choose a positive attitude, other positives will follow.

In today’s fast paced, high tech society, we are bombarded with information. Many of us are experiencing information overload. Between e-mails, snail mail, text mail, billboards, newspapers, and magazines, advertisers are all competing for our attention. Then there’s the news, which is almost always negative. Thousands of positive things occur every single day, but the media focuses on sharing mostly bad stuff.

So how do you stay positive amidst so much negativity? For starters, you can limit your news intake and consider your news sources very carefully. Next, do things that make you happy. Watch funny movies, listen to your favorite music, spend time with people whose company you enjoy, or pursue a hobby.

One of the easiest and best things you can do to keep a positive attitude is to think about everything in your life for which you are grateful. If you have a roof over your head, a bed to sleep in, food to eat, and are wearing clothing, then you should be grateful. If you are able to read this message then you have the gift of sight and you should be grateful. If someone is reading this to you, then you have the gift of hearing and again, you should be grateful. If you are reading this on a computer that you own, then by most of the world’s standards you are quite wealthy and you should be grateful.

We take so many things for granted and in doing so we allow negativity to creep in to our lives. If you start paying attention to the gifts you already have and begin each day by giving thanks, it’s easy to have a positive attitude.

Here are some great examples of people with vision.  To them, failures are not failures, but merely stepping stones.

Famous Failures

I’ve heard it said that if you were to take all the money away from the wealthy and redistribute it evenly among everyone, that within one year an upper class, a middle class, and a lower class would re-emerge. I believe this to be true because some people would see opportunities and take advantage of them as they arise. Others would save or invest their money and possibly take advantage of a few opportunities. The remainder would blow their money, ignore opportunities, and make excuses as to why they no longer have the kind of life they desire.

Have you ever noticed that so many of the wealthy people in this country weren’t even born here? This is something I have always found very fascinating. I’ve heard story after story of people who immigrated to this country and came here with very little or no money. Yet many of them became very successful people, at least in terms of amassing wealth. They do whatever is necessary to acquire their dreams. Many of them achieve this success by initially living as cheaply as possible, working 2 or 3 jobs, and saving their hard earned dollars. Then they learn everything they can in a given field and often go into business for themselves. Sometimes they get small business loans if necessary. Once they achieve initial success with one store, they often go ahead and open a second and then a third. They find good managers to run the additional stores. The power of duplicity is a great way to create wealth because once you train someone to do exactly what you do you can continue duplicating this success over and over again.

Why do so many foreigners take advantage of these opportunities while the rest of us do not? I believe it’s because they see opportunities where we do not. Many of these people grew up in countries that don’t have the endless luxuries that we do.

Imagine if you lived in a shack that you shared with 10 other people. The place has no heating or air conditioning, no refrigeration, and a dirt floor. Food is scarce and you have no running water and have to walk a mile just for fresh water. Suddenly the idea of working two jobs in exchange for living in a place that has flooring and refrigeration would seem like a dream come true. The opportunity to learn about business and actually be able to get a loan for this purchase would be unheard of where you came from. So naturally, when you arrive in this country all you can see is opportunity, everywhere you look. There are even fountains with fresh water and coins in the bottom! This is obviously a place of great abundance.

Now this may be an exaggerated example but I use it to illustrate a point. Why don’t we see the many opportunities that surround us? It’s because when you’re comfortable and all of your basic needs are met it’s harder to see the opportunity. We simply don’t want to take advantage of opportunity because sometimes what’s really an opportunity feels like a tremendous sacrifice. We’re just too comfortable to see what we’ve got. So, we make excuses as to why something won’t work to avoid making what we perceive to be a sacrifice.

We use negative self-talk; getting my degree will take too much time, or owning my own business would require too much work, or getting a loan involves too much risk. Oh, and then, pursuing a certain course of action might take up too much of my time and I’d have to give up watching my favorite TV shows, and so on and so forth.

We’re like spoiled children who get everything handed to them only to take it all for granted. It drives me crazy when I see parents give their kids everything, which teaches them the value of nothing. There, I said it. This opinion might not make me too popular with some, but I don’t care; it’s what I truly believe. We tend to place much more value on things that we have to work for and pay for with our own money especially if we earn them the old fashioned way. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to give your children opportunities and provide them with a wonderful life. However, teaching them the value of working and seizing opportunities is one of the best gifts you can give them.

The following quote is attributed to Helen Keller.

"When one door of happiness closes, another opens, but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one that has been opened for us ."

If a blind and deaf mute could see opportunity then surely all of us can learn from her remarkable attitude. While she may not have had the gift of sight, she certainly possessed vision.

People have been coming to this country for years in search of a better life. After all, this is the land of opportunity. Once you realize this, the possibilities are limitless! If you have sight, but lack vision you might not see every opportunity. If you have vision, you can take advantage of opportunities and create the life you desire. Having sight allows you to see what is. Having vision allows you to see what can be!

For those of you who haven’t seen the movie Pay it Forward, here’s a short clip.  It’s a great example of putting forth positivity into the world.

The type of attitude you possess depends entirely on you.  It can be either positive or negative.  The great thing is – you get to choose.  No one can make you feel a particular way because you must remember that you are in control of how you choose to feel.  When someone does or says something that you feel was meant to hurt you, that may or may not have been their intent.  Oftentimes, hurt feelings are simply a matter of misunderstanding.  Even if the person’s intent was malicious, you can simply choose not to let this affect you.

As Eleanor Roosevelt said, "Remember, no one can make you feel inferior without your consent ."

One of my favorite movies is The Point of No Return starring Bridget Fonda, Gabriel Byrne, and Anne Bancroft.  The movie is a remake of La Femme Nikita and Bridget Fonda’s character, Maggie, is a lawbreaking criminal who chose to become a paid assassin in lieu of death by lethal injection.  She is very rough around the edges and as part of her training she receives etiquette lessons.  Her transformation is nothing short of remarkable.  In one scene, her coach for this endeavor, played by Anne Bancroft, gives her a tip on how to control her temper. She tells her that when something bad happens or a situation goes awry to simply smile and say something like, "I never did mind about the little things ".  This is one of my favorite movie quotes and I use it quite often.  It helps me to put things into perspective.

In the past, I used to let little things drive me crazy, and I must admit that sometimes I still do.  The difference is, now when I feel that happening, I try to make a conscious effort to choose a positive attitude.

There is much to be gained from having a positive attitude. Studies have shown that a positive attitude promotes better health. Projecting positivity helps with handling stress and we all know that our health is directly linked to how we cope with stress.

A positive attitude is a foundation you can build upon.  It would be quite difficult to be confident, outgoing, and enthusiastic without first having a positive attitude.  A positive attitude supports positive attributes; a negative attitude does not.  It’s pretty obvious why positive people have more friends than negative people.   If you first choose a positive attitude, other positives will follow.

In today’s fast paced, high tech society, we are bombarded with information.  Many of us are experiencing information overload. Between e-mails, snail mail, text mail, billboards, newspapers, and magazines, advertisers are all competing for our attention.  Then there’s the news, which is almost always negative.  Thousands of positive things occur every single day, but the media focuses on sharing mostly bad stuff.

So how do you stay positive amidst so much negativity?

1.  For starters, you can limit your news intake and consider your news sources very carefully.

2.  Do things that make you happy.  Watch funny movies, listen to your favorite music, spend time with people whose company you enjoy, or pursue a hobby.

3.  One of the easiest and best things you can do to keep a positive attitude is to think about everything in your life for which you are grateful.  Have an attitude of gratitude.

If you have a roof over your head, a bed to sleep in, food to eat, and are wearing clothing, then you should be grateful.  If you are able to read this message then you have the gift of sight and you should be grateful.  If someone is reading this to you, then you have the gift of hearing and again, you should be grateful.  If you are reading this on a computer that you own, then by most of the world’s standards, you are quite wealthy and you should be grateful.

We take so many things for granted and in doing so we allow negativity to creep in to our lives.  If you start paying attention to the gifts you already have and begin each day by giving thanks, it’s easy to have a positive attitude.