Make Things Happen

"My father instilled in me that if you don't see things happening the way you want them to, you get out there and make them happen."

~ Susan Powter

Many people are good at recognizing when things are not going the way they would like.  They identify all the things that are wrong--in politics, in business, in the economy, in their relationships, in their life.  But too few take action and responsibility for making changes.  If you find yourself complaining about things not happening the way you want them to, get out there and make them happen.

This week:  Identify something that is not going the way you would like, one specific thing.  Now, think about what change you would like to see.  What could YOU personally do to help make that change?  What action could you take?  Brainstorm solutions and write down your ideas.  Then go back and pick ONE thing you can do this week to begin to change the situation.  Although you might think that your action "won't count," recognize that if everybody took some small action, there would begin to be a solution.  Do something, just for this week. 

Linda Pucci, Ph.D. is a psychologist, life coach and trainer at the Inner Resource Center, LLC.  She is an expert in helping people take actions toward their goals, and at her clients create transformational change quickly.  She specializes in helping people overcome the limiting beliefs that sabotages their success and happiness.  For more information, go to http://www.innerresourcecenter.com/ .

Opportunities May Be Right In Front of You

"Your big opportunity may be right where you are now."

~Napoleon Hill

Too often we wait for opportunities.  We think that they will come under some sort of special circumstances.  The reality is that there are probably opportunities right in front of you.  There may be opportunities that can come to you from the things you are doing right now.  There may be opportunities that are right in front of you in your current job, or in your current relationships or even in your daily activities.  All it takes is allowing yourself to see opportunities.  The key is in beginning to notice them.  Once you do, you may find your big opportunity may be right where you are now.  But you have to notice it.

This week:  Spend some time looking around for the opportunities all around you.  Notice possible opportunities in your current situation.  Allow yourself to imagine and extrapolate from where you are right now.  Ask yourself "What if?" possibility questions.  "What could I create from this situation?"  "What problem needs to be solved and how might I create a solution?"  As you meet new people, look for ways to connect with opportunities they may offer.  Even if you are not interested, notice that opportunities are there.  You need to be able to recognize that opportunities are right in front of you, so that you can recognize the "big opportunity" when you see it.  As you begin to notice the opportunities all around you, jot them down.  At the end of the week, review your list and determine if there are any opportunities that you'd like to pursue.  If not, are there people you can share them with? 

Linda Pucci, Ph.D. is a psychologist, life coach and trainer at the Inner Resource Center, LLC in Maryville, TN.  She is an expert at helping people make transformational changes in their lives and careers.  She often helps people identify and explore opportunities and determine what fits them and their life's purpose best.  For more information go to http://www.innerresourcecenter.com/ .

Change Your Negative Thinking to Change Your Life

"What we think determines what happens to us, so if we want to change our lives, we need to stretch our minds."

~Dr. Wayne Dyer

Many people don't realize that how they think about things helps shape what happens.  They dwell on all the things that could go wrong, they focus on the negatives, and then are dismayed when life keeps giving them lemons.  If you want to change how your life is going, change your thinking.  Focus instead on possibilities, opportunities, and all that is positive. 

This week:  Focus on things that are going in the direction you would like.  They don't have to be perfect, just headed in the right direction. Notice when you think negatively, and immediately change that negative to something positive.  It doesn't have to be "pie in the sky" positive, just add words to make it true.  For example, you might change "I never reach the financial goals I set" to "I haven't reached my financial goal yet, but I"m determined to do it."  Give yourself credit for what you have done so far.  Like any muscle, your brain will get stronger as you stretch it.  Focus on what you want to have happen, and what you are doing to make it so.  You are in charge of your life, and can really begin to see that fact when you change your thinking.

Linda Pucci, Ph.D. is a psychologist, life coach and expert in helping people change negative and limiting beliefs.  She has developed a powerful program to help her clients move beyond negative emotions and limiting beliefs that have been stockpiled from negative past experiences.  Her Life Moments Makeover System-TM allows people to make very significant life changes in 4-5 days.  For more information go to http://www.innerresourcecenter.com/ .

Life Experiences Create a Way to Transform Yourself

"Everything in your life is there as a vehicle for your transformation. Use it!"

~Ram Dass

All the experiences we have can be a source of positive learning.  Even the people and events that challenge us or we view as "negative" have a lesson to teach us to help us move forward.  Transformation requires us to be willing to change in a big way.  It requires us to perceive things differently.  We can take the experiences we have had (even the negative ones) and use them to change our lives and those of others.  Our lives and the events we experience are the perfect vehicle to transform us into who we want to be.  The first step?  You have to be willing to believe that it is possible. 

This week: Think about some of the experiences that have been significant in your life. If you still have some negative emotions attached to those experiences, begin to think about them in a different way.  What did you learn about yourself from having gone through that experience?  What strengths did you discover?  Where has your life taken you as a result of that experience?  Although you might not have chosen that experience if given a choice about it, what good has come from it?  Now notice the experiences you have this week.  Are there ways of viewing the experience which hold the potential for transformation?  Is there a failure you've learned from?  Is there a success that could move you in a totally different direction?  Where are the opportunities in your experiences for transformation.  If possible, do some writing or journaling about it.  Allow yourself to imagine change coming from an experience in your life.  When you do this, you can begin to see the possibilities for change in everyday experiences. 

Linda Pucci, Ph.D. is a psychologist, life coach and certified trainer.  She often works intensively with clients to help them move forward quickly and transform some area of their life.  "You have to be willing and ready," she says, "but you can make significant, lasting, transformative changes in as little as 4 days."  She utilizes her 30+ years of experience and cutting edge techniques to bring about change easily.  For more information, go to http://www.innerresourcecenter.com/

Dare to Imagine

"Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world."

~Albert Einstein

Everything starts with an idea, and ideas start with imagaination.  When we imagine something, we create possibility.  We ask "What if?"  That is a unique human ability.  Imagination becomes the first step to creating something new.  It is from all that "something new" that knowledge is born.  Both have their place and complement each other.  If you think "I don't know enough," think again.  Remember that knowledge is limited.  It is imagination that grows and encircles the world.  It is imagination that can make the real difference.  Dare to imagine.

This week:   Allow your imagination "out to play."  What possibilities would you like to create--if you could?  What problems would you like to be able to solve?  Create an "imagination board."  Write down your ideas, draw pictures, clip pictures out of magazines.  Allow your imagination to soar, but record it in some way.  At the end of the week, look at what has surfaced during the week.  Do you have ideas you would now like to elaborate?  Sometimes it is from exercises like this that we discover new solutions.

Linda Pucci, Ph.D. is a psychologist, life coach and trainer at the Inner Resource Center, LLC.  She believes that all people carry within themselves the resources to solve life's challenges, they just need to uncover them.  She helps her clients do this by accessing the resources housed in their imagination and subconscious mind.  A certified NLP trainer, Linda teaches clients how to utilize the ways the brain processes information and language to quickly and easily create the outcome they've been seeking.  For more information go to http://www.innerresourcecenter.com/ .

To Encourage Others to Be Their Best, Walk the Walk

"You get the best out of others when you get the best out of yourself."

~Harvey Firestone

One of the best ways to encourage others to be their best, is to model excellence for them. When you set a standard for excellence, then work to achieve it yourself, you can teach people by your example.  You can model how to overcome obstacles.  You can show others how to maintain motivation.  You can show them how to overcome adversity or those curve balls that life sometimes throws.  The best leaders lead by example.  If there are specific things you want others to do, make sure you are demonstrating how to do them.  We listen and learn from those who "walk the walk."

This week:  Think of some specific person you want to encourage to be their best.  It might be an employee, friend, child or parent.  How can you model "being your best" for them?  What skills do you have that you might share with them?  What can you demonstrate to them by how you are living your life?  If you want them to be their best, are you striving for that yourself.  Really look at it honestly.  Make adjustments if you need to.  This is one you may need to practice for a bit longer than one week, but the results will be well worth it!

Linda Pucci, Ph.D. is a psychologist, life coach and trainer at the Inner Resource Center, LLC.  She specializes in helping people overcome their limitations and the ways they sabotage their success and happiness using the skills she has developed from over 30 years of experience.  For more information to become your best, go to http://www.innerresourcecenter.com/ .

Make Time for What Is Important

"It is time to make the time."

~Henry Dumas

How often have you said "I don't have time" or "I'll do it when I have time"?  Too often we make excuses about time.  While it is true that there is a finite number of hours in the day and often more demands on us than there is time to do them, there really IS time--for the things that are most important.  Unfortunately, we sometimes don't spend our time on the things that are most important.  We postpone those and instead busy ourselves with minor tasks or time wasters.  If something is important in your life, it is time to make the time. 

This week:  Spend 20 minutes planning your week.  Look at what the demands on your time are.  What things have you been postponing saying you "don't have enough time."  Look honestly at them and ask yourself "If I keep postponing doing this, what will be the result?  How important is this to me?"  Evaluate all of your tasks for the week this way.  Start postponing the ones that are not as important.  Even if you don't have a block of time to spend on an important task, begin to do some small step toward accomplishing it.  Notice how that feels to you.  Sometimes when we pay attention to what is really important and "make the time" for it, we rediscover a passion that had been lying dormant. 

Linda Pucci, Ph.D. is a psychologist, life coach and certified trainer at the Inner Resource Center, LLC.  She specializes in helping people overcome the obstacles to their success and happiness and begin living more meaningful lives.  She is the creator of the Discover Your Life's Purpose: 7 Steps to a Life of Meaning & Authencity program as well as the Banish Self Sabotage series.  For more information go to http://www.innerresourcecenter.com/