​“Often removing is improving.”
                                   ---Anonymous Author
 
Last week I wrote about the importance of making a Dream Board to assist in achieving our New Year’s resolutions and intentions. A reader of the blog responded that they had little success with their Dream Board postings from last year and wanted to know what could be blocking their ability to manifest their dreams.
 
One concept that has assisted us in achieving greater success in manifesting our goals is incorporating the Principles of Feng Shui by Jayme Barrett in our daily life. Many of the ideas I implemented came from this book. My wife is a master of what is discussed in chapter three of the book, Clutter and Space Cleaning. “Clearing clutter and cleansing space are the first steps in creating awesome energy within yourself and your surroundings. Just as an artist paints a masterpiece on a fresh canvas, a clean environment is essential for you to implement Feng Shui effectively. If you start with a clean slate, your dreams and goals will manifest much faster and easier.”
 
We have a container in our office in which we put clothing or household items that we no longer need or use. When it is filled it is donated to our favorite charity, Habitat. There are so many emotions that tug at us as we let go of a possession that is no longer useful to us. This is especially true when there is the slightest sentimental attachment. As I said, Jeanne is great at clearing the clutter. This year she realized she was still holding on to the 12-year-old dress she wore for our 40th wedding anniversary. She also had kept the dresses she wore for our children’s weddings. Letting go in this situation was a little more difficult for her because of the treasured moments and emotions stirred by thee special events. But she realized letting go of the dresses would have no effect on the memories.
 
I believe that the success rate of achieving the postings on our Dream Board is greatly accelerated by letting go of “the old” to allow room for “the new.” One example from last year was a picture we found in a magazine of a swivel rocker; we posted on our Dream Board. When we redecorated our living room, we had a difficult time letting go of an accent chair that did not compliment the new color scheme. We shopped extensively to find a new chair but were not successful. We finally decided to give away the chair and just have a vacant space available for the new chair we would purchase.
 
Two weeks later we visited several furniture stores with no success. We were tired but decided to visit one more store. As we were leaving the store Jeanne spotted a chair we had not been shown. There was the swivel chair we had envisioned. It was the exact size and color we had posted on our Dream Board!
 
This week you may want to start with clearing out a few small items that are cluttering up space around the house. Start with items to which you do have no emotional attachment. The next step is to always have a container or brown paper bag in a designated place available to place the items in that you will donate to an organization for recycling. Our local grocery store has a Habitat for Humanity bin that makes it very convenient for us to make decluttering a habit.
 
 

“The thrill of new beginnings is immensely alluring!”
                                                                   Avijeet Das

 
We can always learn from nature as you can see in this picture Roy sent to me that he captured yesterday. Focus on your immediate tasks and you will  fulfill your desired goals.
 
New Year’s Day is a day of reflection on the successes of the past year, anticipation and hope for fulfillment of dreams for the new year. Today I wrote down my first affirmation for the new year “I am open to the endless possibilities of this year!”
 
I also like to take an inventory of what tools I used that helped me achieve my goals for last year and the efforts I need to modify to assure  a higher rate of success for 2020. There were a few things I did last year that were so successful that they even surprised me.
 
Every year I have mentioned that New Year’s resolutions in general have the highest rate of failure of anything we attempt to put into practice throughout the year. It is so easy for most people to just list all the disciplines  they intend to incorporate in their life. Unfortunately after a few months the distractions of daily life click in and the discipline falls by the wayside.
 
I have put into practice a few simple changes in my approach to getting better results and achieving greater success. The number one suggestion I have strongly encouraged with my readers is to make a Dream Board. It is amazing how motivating it is to have that visual display of affirmations and pictures of the things they would like to attract in their life.
 
Last year our Dream Board had 80% success in achieving what was posted. One posting was an error but yet achieved. I had a picture of a trip to Nashville with the Ryman Theatre on it with the words “Grand Ole Opry” sprawled across it. I had forgotten that the Opry had played in its new location in Opryland for several years. Six months before taking the trip I purchased tickets to see whatever may be playing at the Ryman. I kept trying to find out what performers would be there the
Date of our tickets. However the performers were never posted, Until we entered the theatre, we did not know what Country star would be performing. We were seated in the theatre and the curtains opened and it was announced that the last live broadcast of the Grand Old Opry for the season would be preforming. Wow!
 
To accelerate my success in achieving my goals that are posted I adjust my Prosperity Budget to assist me in my success. I like the 10% approach to a personal investment in achieving the goal.
For example I had three travel locations posted on our Dream Board. I determined what the cost of the three trips would be, so I put aside 10% in my budget. The balance I would work out monthly. We have never taken a vacation on credit. Much to my surprise I received my Southwest travel credit card statement saying I earned two air fares to any location to which they traveled. With this extra boost we were able to take all three trips. Dreaming and planning enhance the pleasure of achieving our goals! During the next few weeks I will explore other tactics to achieve the goals we set.
 
This week you may want to think of your hopes and the dreams you want to achieve this year. Gather a few pictures and begin to put together your Dream Board. This is something our grandchildren and their parents are doing. Our daughter-in-law had posted a picture on her Dream Board of a dining room set that she saw in a magazine. It was unique and she thought it could not be found locally. However when they walked into a new furniture store here in New Orleans that exact table was displayed in the showroom. It looks beautiful in their Dining Room.
 
 

Last week I talked about taking the road less traveled. Many times it can be a lonely road because initially there seems to be so few who want to take this journey with you. When you are writing a blog that is going out in cyber space you never know if readers of the message are attracting fellow travelers. If you have made the decision to pursue this adventure, I will be sending quotes from the book Before Happiness to offer encouragement to stay focused on your goals.
 
​

​For a success driven person like myself I have to constantly remind myself to keep a positive prospective as I pursue my goals. My biggest successes happen when I least expect them. They would not have manifested if I had focused on the possibility of failure.
 
Many times events happen in our lives that are out of our control. The September 2008 financial crisis was the worst economic disaster since the depression of 1929. It was an event that devastated Wall Street and the banking industry. This took place one year after my retirement and wiped away a major part of my investments. What I did following this tragic event convinced me that staying focused on your goals with a positive perspective really works. I immediately adjusted my budget to reduce expenses.
 
In the month after that “event” I received a surprise call from a startup company entering the market I had worked in for 43 years. They were looking for a part-time consultant to help them get established in a new market. I met with the owner and was immediately offered the job. I remained working long enough to make up for the shortfall caused by that that economic crisis.
 
During this time I put into practice what always worked for me in the past. I continued writing in my grateful journal, not easy when in a crisis, but that did help me stay focused on the many blessings still present in our life. I did not give up on my dream board postings or my passion for travel. I still firmly believed that I could create the long-term travel dream to go to Europe for 21 days for our 50th anniversary. To keep me focused  I also had affirmations posted around the house to support my goals and aspirations.
 
The proof that all of this effort was worth  the discipline is the fact that we did take the  Dream Trip to Europe and have traveled many places in the United States.  We are living life to the fullest and enjoying every day of retirement.  
 
You may want to write down a few of your goals and back them up with tools that will help you keep a positive prospective on achieving them. As always sharing your personal success stories in the comments below can offer support to followers of my blog.
 
 
 

”Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude
from achieving his goal; nothing on earth
can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.”
                                                                   ---Thomas Jefferson
                                                                                                                   


Many years ago I saw a powerful movie entitle The Miracle Man. It was about a successful businessman, Morris Goodman, who crashed his private plane in March 1981. At the scene of the accident he was unconscious. The attendants thought it very unlikely that he would live to reach the hospital. However he did survive but was paralyzed with a crushed spine. The family was given very little hope that he would ever regain the ability to function even minimally in the life he had lived before the accident. He could not speak for months. However he could clearly hear words of doubt by his doctors; he would never walk again; he would be no more than a vegetable. Miraculously his inner strength did not fail him. He decided he would use the same techniques in his recovery that he had used to build a successful business. During the months of his recovery he would use the following mental affirmations again and again, “Think you can, think you can’t, either way you are right. I think I can walk out of the hospital on my own.” I can walk out of this hospital before Christmas!” And that is exactly what he did!
 
I implemented several of the practices he used in the movie and they assisted me in achieving positive results. It was all about the mental perception of achieving my goals. I am always shocked with some responses I  receive from some people saying, “That may work for you, but it is not for everyone.” Today in this highly competitive world that children are being brought up in it is easy to believe “I Think I can’t  rather than “I Think I Can.”
 
There is hope that is now backed up by research that by applying a few changes in our thinking patterns we can have enormous success in fulfilling our dreams and living life to the fullest.
 
To keep me on track of what I learned many years ago I am constantly seeking books to support my positive approach to life. The one I am currently reading has me so fired up! I cannot read it late at night for two reasons. One, I love to send quotes to family and friends from the book. Message beeping on phones at odd hours are not welcomed even by the best of friends! The second reason is that I get so excited I can’t ‘t sleep. The book I am currently reading is “Before Happiness” by Shawn Achor. The following is one of the many quotes from the book. “Creating more positive perception of our goals can dramatically increase our engagement, focus, productivity and motivation and thus increase the speed at which we attain them.”
 
One of the readers of my blog entitled Third Quarter Review said they were looking at their Dream Board and was surprised to see how many “dreams” posted had manifested in their life. They were so fired up they started writing additional dreams and goals for next year!
 
Regardless of how positive a person may be there will be times when doubt will creep in.  When that happens to me, I review my success folder. This is a folder in which I keep comments from my readers letting me know that my suggestions helped them achieve their goals.
 
In my next posting I will share on research that came from Columbia University Graduate School of Business. It is so exciting because it has been proven by just applying a few principles, we can achieve our goals in life.
 
You may want to prepare yourself  now for applying some of the ideas I will share with you by writing down three things you are grateful for that are present or happening in your life and three goals you would like to achieve.

​“Courage is the first of human qualities because it is the quality which guarantees all others.”
 – Winston Churchill
 
 
In my previous posting I discussed the benefit of a fourth quarter review of goals and achievements for this year. Perhaps that could also include a look ahead to possibilities for 2020. If this is something you have decided to do, I would also recommend that you combine the following three tools to achieve the fastest results in accomplishing your goals. When I experience success, I have more courage to try new things to continue achieving my goals in life.
 
Dream Board
Success Budget
Affirmations
 
For the weekly readers of my blog this is a story you may have read previously, and it was a major example of courage to pursue your dreams. A few years ago I posted pictures of a 21-day River Cruise in Europe on our Dream Board. We would celebrate our 50th Wedding Anniversary on this wonderful tour. This was a very expensive trip and I realized it would take  planning to make it happen. My Dream Board gives me a constant visual of what I  want to attract in my life.
It doesn’t make anything occur magically, but it serves as an important part of the roadmap to get where I want to go.
 
 
The next step was to review our Success Budget spreadsheet and increase our monthly travel budget to accommodate the cost of the trip paid in full by our date
of departure. In our case, it was necessary to reduce income sourcing in some categories to increase the travel budget.
 
The third step was using daily affirmations to support success in meeting our goal. The affirmations have to be stated in a way that the words support our belief that this is indeed happening in our life. I have my affirmations on the first page of my grateful journal. I review them every morning before I begin my writing. The one I said daily to create our dream of a lifetime trip was, “ I am looking forward to spending 21 days in Europe to celebrate our 50th.”
 
I have to be honest and admit that doubt crept in after I made the deposit to confirm this trip. I was caught off guard when we were notified that the final payment was due almost one year in advance of departure. It was at these times I frequently looked at the itinerary that was posted on the Dream Board and would repeat my daily affirmations. This trip celebrating our 50th Anniversary will always remain one of our fondest memories.
 
These three tools of Dream Board, Success Budget, and Affirmations may be worth your efforts for 90 days. The odds for achieving your goals will be in your favor. Much of this is backed up by scientific data in a book I am currently reading Discovering Happiness by Shawn Achor.
 
 
 
 
 
 

​“If you don't know where you are going,
you'll end up someplace else.”
                                                                             ---Yogi Berra
 
 
Before retirement I worked in marketing for a major corporation. The fourth quarter review was twofold, and the process took an entire day. We first had to report on year-to-date sales. If the numbers were less than the forecast, we were expected to justify the decline in shipments. We then had to submit an estimate on projected sales for the following year. Management always pushed to get us to exceed our own estimate. There was something about this process that succeeded. Top performers always met and often exceeded their goals.
 
For those of us eager to achieve our goals in life, we are now in the last quarter of the year. This is a good time to review your goals and achievements for this year. This could also lead you to initiate ideas and set your sights on what you would like to accomplish next year. As I stated in the beginning of this year, most New Year’s resolutions fail within the first 60 days of a new year. If they are thought out in advance with an  action plan and determination to meet the 90-day challenge, the goals will be achieved.
 
I have covered many topics since the first of the year. The goal is to enable each of us to live life to the fullest. To do that it is essential that we seriously examine the major areas of life that tremendously influence our success or failure to experience abundance and fulfillment on  a physical and spiritual level. The major areas are finances, relationships, optimal wellness of body, mind, and spirit. I truly believe positive thinking, goal setting, and personal growth resources greatly influence the success in these areas.
 
The following topics have been covered in my blog this year to help the readers achieve  their dreams and goals in life.

• Affirmations
• Goal Setting
• Dream Work
• Inspirational and Spiritual Books
• Success Budget
• Dream Board
• Marriage
• Meditation
• Inspirational and Spiritual e mail newsletters
• Body modalities for wellness
• Relationships
• Finances
• Grateful Journal
• Tools for guidance
• Tithing

 
If you want to get a jump start on achieving your New Year’s goals start now by selecting one or two of the above topics and make a 90-day resolution to Implement the practice into your life now. If you would like recommendations on resources in any of these areas that  I covered in my blog, you can send me an email at positivepops123@gmail.com or in the comment section below.  I will give you information on resources I have personally used with success. For example my Dream Board is something I have been doing for years. This year’s results have been amazing. My fourth quarter personal review of this one tool of goal setting indicates that 80% of what is posted has been achieved.

​“All you need is the plan, the road map, and the
courage to press on to your destination.”
---Earl Nightingale
 
Who is driving your car and what happens when the road you are traveling on comes to a dead end? Today we depend so much on technology that often making a choice from our own life experiences becomes a challenge. This happened to us when we were going to a funeral in an unfamiliar area. Before technology we would have attained accurate directions before we left home. But we never gave it a thought. We just assumed our GPS would get us there with no problems. The dependence on this technology failed us. It led us to a rural road and an impassable bridge that was being rebuilt.  
 
When I have such an experience, I am drawn to recall aspects of my life that reflect similar experiences. I have to ask myself who is in the driver’s seat. Am I habitually allowing outside sources to direct me to my desired destination? Am I prepared to get past the dead end should it happen? Have I strengthened my inner resources on a daily basis?
 
My resources are quite varied. My curiosity has led me to much research and discovery of tools to expand my horizons and strengthen my ability to move forward to achieve my goals in life. Since I started this blog, I have received inquiries about finances, budgets, helpful books, and many other avenues for personal growth opportunities. I have been blessed to receive many success stories. In most cases interest in creating a positive change occurred when faced with a roadblock or dead end.
 
The one common factor to achieve our desired destination is to apply the 90-day rule. Try a new practice or discipline for 90 consecutive days and then it becomes a habit in your life. Fifteen years ago I started a daily grateful journal. My notebook and a cup of coffee are the first things I grab in the early morning.
The first 90 days it seemed like another discipline. I had to get up a little earlier and put aside the daily newspaper. It is now something I look forward to doing to get my thought process focused on the positive things happening in my life.
 
I suggest you spend some time this week working on your road map and your plan to get to your desired destination in life. It could be in the area of finance, budget, spiritual growth, career, family life. Give it a try; you may be surprised with the results!
 
 

 
“You can be anything you want to be, if only you believe with sufficient conviction and act in accordance with your faith; for whatever the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve.”
                                                              Napoleon Hill, “Think and Grow Rich”
 
 
Our granddaughter was at our house a few days ago and let me know she was working on her list of affirmations. I then let her review my list. She made the comment that she didn’t know Granny and I were going to New York during the Christmas holidays. This was her response to my affirmation “I am enthusiastic about planning our trip to New York during the Christmas holiday season.”
 
We then discussed the whole process. I told her it is important that affirmations be written in a way that confirms the intentions will happen. Having a clear intention and elevated emotion will help you succeed in using the powerful tool of affirmations. I explained to her that we may not be going to New York this year and that doesn’t matter. It will happen in the future because I am selecting the hotel, making a list of the plays we will see, and making plans to see the Rockets Christmas show.
 
I continue to research credible resources to support the tools I suggest that my grandchildren use to help them release negative blocks at an early age. The following quote comes from the book "Becoming Supernatural: How Common People Are Doing the Uncommon" by Dr Joe Dispenza, that I am currently reading. It supports the benefits of having intentions and using affirmations to affirm them. It is amazing to realize that there is now scientific evidence that proves it works!
 
"Changing Your Energy: Combining a Clear Intention with Elevated Emotions. Once you’re in the sweet spot of the generous present moment, where all possibilities exist in the quantum field, how do you turn one or more of those potentials, those immaterial possibilities, into reality in the three-dimensional world of matter?
 
This requires two things: a clear intention and elevated emotion. Your clear intention is exactly what it sounds like—you must get clear on what it is you want to create, getting as specific as possible, and describe it in detail. Let’s say you want to go on a great vacation. Where is it you want to go? How do you want to get there? Who do you want to go with, or who do you want to meet when you’re there? What sort of accommodations do you want to stay in? What do you want to do or see when you’re there? What food do you want to eat? What do you want to drink? What kind of wardrobe will you pack? What will you buy to bring home? You get the point. Make it detailed—make it as real as you can because you are going to assign a letter as a symbol of possibility to all those conditions.
 
As you read in the previous chapter, those thoughts, which make up your intention, are the electrical charge you are sending out into the unified field. Now you must combine that intention with an elevated emotion, such as love, gratitude, inspiration, joy, excitement, awe, or wonder, to name just a few examples.
 
You must tap into the feeling you anticipate you will have when you manifest your intent, and then feel the emotion ahead of the experience. The elevated emotion (which carries a higher energy) is the magnetic charge you are sending out into the field."
 
Think of a special event that you love celebrating. It may be Christmas, Birthdays or any other special occasion. With that thought in mind use that excitement, anticipation and enthusiasm to write down your list of intentions that you plan on bringing into your life. Then take that list and transform it into affirmations beginning each with “I Am.”
 
 

 
“I can't change the direction of the wind,
but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.”
                                                                                                           ---Jimmy Dean
 
While driving to the beach this weekend my wife and I were listening to a talk given several years ago by Dr. Wayne Dyer on the power of affirmations. This is a topic I wrote about in my last posting but since it keeps drawing my attention through several books, articles and CDs I feel compelled to expand on this helpful tool. One of things Dr. Dyer emphasized is that affirmations should begin with “I Am.” These words make the affirmation a present experience and even programs your mind to expect them to happen.
 
As soon as we came back home I spent some time rewriting several of my affirmations to start with “I Am.”  The Jimmy Dean quote I used today  is something I have always done when I am determined to reach my destination. The tapes reminded me of what I somehow had forgotten. Now I’m back on track! The “I Am” put the focus and the power in the present moment.
 
If you are a follower of my blog, you certainly know I am motivated by success. When anyone has success using some of the principles I have written about I consider that a success for me also. That is why it is important for me to share what is working in my life. When I was reviewing my affirmations, I noticed one that I had coincidentally worded as such and realized that it was already working.
 
“ I am confident in my ability to attract financial abundance.”
Unexpected maintenance expenses to our car surprised me but were handled with ease. Surprises of that sort can really throw me but not this time. This may seem trivial, but it was a major confirmation letting me know that affirmations work.
 
Another support of the value of writing affirmations of things you plan on experiencing in your life comes from a book I am reading by Dr. Joe Dispenza.
 
"So, when you’re fully engaged and focused, the inner world of imagination will appear as an outer-world experience—and your biology will change accordingly. That means you can make your brain and body look as if a physical experience has already happened without having the actual experience. What you put your attention on and mentally rehearse repeatedly not only becomes who you are from a biological perspective, it also determines your future."  from Becoming Supernatural: How Common People Are Doing the Uncommon by Dr. Joe Dispenza
 
If you have not yet written your affirmations I encourage you to spend some time this week writing them down. I printed several copies so that I can have a copy available to read when I go to bed at night and one next to my computer in my office.