Joy, enthusiasm, brightness & laughter

Affirmations to read aloud daily

noreply@blogger.com (Noel) — Sat, 10 Feb 2018 20:07:00 +0000

When I started working on my spiritual development several years ago, I knew I had to change my beliefs. After studying a process of changing my beliefs by first changing my thoughts, words, and actions, I decided to grab a positive mental attitude book I had not read and convert the information I found into affirmations that I could read aloud, meditate on, write out, and record to listen to. I selected Catherine Ponder because I had read several quotes of hers in other writers' articles and decided that her works were positive and upbeat.

From Catherine Ponder's first book, "The Dynamic Laws of Prosperity," I selected the all-caps affirmations throughout the book and revised them for first-person reading. (You will find a similar document here.) The attached document is predominantly the version I first used over five years ago. I recently updated it for my current use based on my spiritual development and mental peak performance techniques I've learned over the years.

Each day, for a month, I read these statements aloud. The effect was more than I could have hoped for: the affirmations popped back into my head exactly when I needed them most, and they still do to this day. In addition, they changed my thoughts, words, and actions which yielded new and better beliefs in myself.

the more joyous we become

noreply@blogger.com (Noel) — Tue, 30 Dec 2014 01:43:00 +0000

"The more generous we are, the more joyous we become. The more cooperative we are, the more valuable we become. The more enthusiastic we are, the more productive we become. The more serving we are, the more prosperous we become." ~ William Arthur Ward

I like this quote because it spells out what is needed to achieve these qualities. When I read this quote, I usually think of more prescriptions for greatness:

to be Joyous

De-clutter your home and give as much away as possible
Keep money moving aka circulation dissolves congestion
Receive and give happily

to be Productive

Do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life
Enthusiasm eliminates drudgery
FLOW through your workday

to be Valuable

Agreeable people are needed more than argumentative people
Stand your ground but find common ground
Let go once you've agreed

to be Prosperous

Service empowers you
Positive and constructive behavior attracts good
Service gives you the opportunity to be generous

Keep your heart

noreply@blogger.com (Noel) — Sun, 24 Nov 2013 17:55:00 +0000

"Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life." ~ Proverbs 4:23

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You are not your mistakes

noreply@blogger.com (Noel) — Sat, 09 Nov 2013 12:41:00 +0000

You are not your mistakes. You are you. Every mistake builds your wisdom, so don't be afraid of mistakes. Make a mistake, own it, know that you are wiser, and refocus toward your goal.

You are a child of God, so be a child - or a learner. You're always making mistakes, but you're not a mistake. You're learning, and everyone else is learning, too.

Just because you slip, trip, stumble, or fall; you are not a slipper, tripper, stumbler, or faller. If you fail at something, you are not a failure. You are still you whether you slip a little or a lot, fall a little or a lot, or fail a little or a lot.

Your slipping, falling, and failing means you're living life. Dust yourself off, continuously improve your quality, and start over on your project, or move on to something new. Learn from your mistakes, and do it better next time.

Your flaws are why others love you. Embrace those flaws rather than hiding them. You're a learner like everyone else. You are not your mistakes. You are you!

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noreply@blogger.com (Noel) — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 23:40:00 +0000

Blessing and gratitude

noreply@blogger.com (Noel) — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 01:25:00 +0000

Here's a simple blessing I like to do throughout the day:

[my deity],
Please bless __________ and his/her friends and family with an abundance of love, peace, happiness, laughter, and income.

Thank you for blessing me with an abundance of [someone important to me], health and wisdom, friends and family, work and income, and shelter and transportation.
Amen!

At this time, I also will remind myself to:
Do everything with love
&
Relax (breathe slowly and deeply)
Release (the need to control)
Receive (love/energy from others)
Achieve (use the love and energy to accomplish something)

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I love you

The beginning of wisdom is this

noreply@blogger.com (Noel) — Wed, 04 Jul 2012 23:02:00 +0000

"The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight." ~ Proverbs 4:7

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noreply@blogger.com (Noel) — Sat, 16 Jun 2012 02:32:00 +0000

If I bring joy....

noreply@blogger.com (Noel) — Sun, 10 Jun 2012 19:08:00 +0000

"If you bring joy, enthusiasm, brightness, and laughter to your customers, they will react with joy, enthusiasm, brightness, and laughter and your weather will produce a harvest of sales and a granary of gold for you." ~ Og Mandino

The name of this blog comes from chapter 13 of Og Mandino's book, The Greatest Salesman in the World. In that chapter, bringing joy, enthusiasm, brightness, and laughter (JEBL) is a customer service strategy to condition customers that the salesperson will be positive and upbeat in all encounters, and therefore, be the one with whom customers associate positive feelings. I'm not a salesperson by occupation, but I do enjoys the days in which more people than not are in a decent mood. In chapter 13, Mandino explains that we are all in control of our emotions and that we should strive to change our bad moods if we wake up on the wrong side of the bed on a particular day. Mandino instructs to bring joy, enthusiasm, brightness, and laughter to others because people will mirror what they are exposed to.

"Today, I will be master of my emotions."

According to Mandino, because our moods fluctuate daily, we have to control our emotions to be able to give JEBL to others. Therefore, if the day starts out on an upswing, giving JEBL to others should be easy. However, if the day starts out on a down swing, then we will have to elevate our mood before interacting with others. The quickest way to change a mood is literally to turn a frown upside down: find something to smile or laugh about. Smile your way toward a better outlook.

How do I start the day?

Mandino says to evaluate how you feel when you wake up. Is it an up or down day? If I feel up, then I'm off to a good start for being able to give joy, enthusiasm, brightness, and laughter to others. If I feel down, Mandino says that I should do the opposite of what I feel. For example, if I wake up feeling sad, then I should find something to laugh about. Personally, I keep a bookmark folder in my web browser with webpages that consistently make me laugh out loud. It only takes a few minutes of looking at those sites before I start laughing hysterically. Then, I use that positivity to turn my negative thoughts around.

Joy, enthusiasm, brightness, and laughter

If I act negatively, others will react negatively. Therefore, it's important to start my interactions positively. People will mirror what they see...especially if it's their down day, too. If I bring JEBL, others will react with JEBL. I have to model JEBL, and maybe it will change someone's day.

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"Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around." ~Leo Buscagalia

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In chapter 13 of The Greatest Salesman in the World, Og Mandino explains that providing joy, enthusiasm, brightness, and laughter to customers will change or add to their feelings on any particular day. While I'm not a salesperson, I enjoy this quote and try to implement it each day. I have found that simply smiling at people - much less asking them how they are doing and wishing them a good day - will set a positive tone for the day for me as well as for others.

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Do not withhold good

noreply@blogger.com (Noel) — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 20:48:00 +0000

"Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it." ~ Proverbs 3:27

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noreply@blogger.com (Noel) — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 04:42:00 +0000

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I love you

noreply@blogger.com (Noel) — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 02:39:00 +0000

You are beautiful, brilliant, and I love you, accept you, and forgive you. I want to listen to you talk, hear you laugh, see you smile, and hold you.

What if everyone had the opportunity to hear this once a day or maybe just once a week? What type of difference would it make in their lives?

How would you react if someone said it to you?

Better yet, how would you react if you said it to yourself? Take a minute and say this to yourself. It may sound silly, but give it a try:

You are beautiful, brilliant, and I love you, accept you, and forgive you. I want to listen to you talk, hear you laugh, see you smile, and hold you.

If that was easy for you, say it while looking at yourself in a mirror. If that's easy, too, then genuinely smile at yourself while you say it. Say that to yourself every time you pass by a mirror - to yourself if you don't want to say it out loud. Pretty soon, you will believe it. Keep track of how your life changes.

Here are some quotes on love.

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Happy is the man

noreply@blogger.com (Noel) — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 01:47:00 +0000

"Happy is the man that finds wisdom, and the man that gets understanding." Proverbs 3:13

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noreply@blogger.com (Noel) — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 01:03:00 +0000

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noreply@blogger.com (Noel) — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 02:25:00 +0000

Do what I love & love what I do

"Character is the result of two things: mental attitude and how we spend our time." ~ Elbert Hubbard

Each day, I'll have joy, enthusiasm, brightness, and laughter to share when I do all of the following things:

something for each member of my family
communicate with at least one friend
continuing education for my work
play or build musical instruments
write fiction or nonfiction
build gifts for friends and family
work on mental, physical, spiritual, financial, or social self-improvement

Fools despise wisdom and instruction

noreply@blogger.com (Noel) — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 19:57:00 +0000

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction." ~ Proverbs 1:7

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noreply@blogger.com (Noel) — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 22:30:00 +0000

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Weekly Words

noreply@blogger.com (Noel) — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 00:38:00 +0000

I developed this list of words after reading Frank Bettger's book, How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Selling. Bettger adapted his thirteen words from Benjamin Franklin's thirteen subjects, which Franklin explained in his autobiography.
The idea is simple:

Determine 13 words or concepts that are important to you.
Arrange them in the order in which you wish to study them.
Define them so you have something on which to focus.
Each day of a week, study each word and its meaning.
Journal events that happen throughout the week so that you can examine them later.

By the end of one year, you will have cycled through this list four times. Go back to your journal entries periodically to revisit your successes, failures, opportunities, or achievements. You will be surprised at your development.

Below are my thirteen words with basic definitions of each word. In my definitions, I included both synonyms and antonyms so that I could distinguish successes from failures in my end-of-week examinations.

Independence is my freedom from control as demonstrated by my ability, intelligence, self-sufficiency, and skill. I will not be dependent or subservient today.
Confidence is my nerve as demonstrated by my assurance, courage, fortitude, morale, and tenacity. I will not be insecure, self-doubting, or uncertain today.
Determination is my firmness of purpose as demonstrated by my courage, persistence, and will. I will decrease my hesitation, indecision, and weakness today.
Stability is my constancy of character and purpose as demonstrated by my security, perseverance, and strength. I will decrease my anxiety, insanity, and weakness today.
Balance is my composure as demonstrated by my self-control and stability. I will decrease my irrationality and nervousness today.
Enthusiasm is my level of excitement as demonstrated by my conviction, energy, interests, spirit, and zeal. I will decrease my apathy, indifference, and passivity today.
Loyalty is my faithfulness to commitments or obligations as demonstrated by my faith, humility, reliability, support, and zeal. I will not be disloyal or treacherous today.
Conscientiousness is my scrupulous attention to details as demonstrated by my care, diligence, and reliability. I refuse to be careless, erroneous, or irresponsible today.
Success is my accomplishment of intended purposes as demonstrated by my achievement, fortune, go, kindness, and victory. I will learn from my failures and increase my successes today.
Cooperation is my working with others for a common purpose as demonstrated by my assistance, harmony, and teamwork. I will improve my cooperation without sacrificing my independence today.
Will is my power of self-direction as demonstrated by my character and purpose. I will strengthen my will by improving my attitude, discipline, and self-control today.
Character is the integrity of my reputation as demonstrated by my courage, honor, intelligence, and strength. I will not practice corruption, deceit, or dishonesty today.
Intelligence is my capacity for learning and understanding as demonstrated by my aptitude, judgment, perception, and sense. I will decrease my stupidity today.

Friendship

noreply@blogger.com (Noel) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 21:36:00 +0000

• "But friendship is precious, not only in the shade, but in the sunshine of life, and thanks to a benevolent arrangement the greater part of life is sunshine." ~Thomas Jefferson
• "Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival." ~C. S. Lewis
• "Never explain - your friends do not need it and your enemies will not believe you anyway." ~Elbert Hubbard
• "When you choose your friends, don't be short-changed by choosing personality over character." ~W. Somerset Maugham
• "The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand, nor the kindly smile, nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when he discovers that someone else believes in him and is willing to trust him." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

He who gets wisdom has love for his soul.

noreply@blogger.com (Noel) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 01:10:00 +0000

• "Of all the things which wisdom acquires to produce the blessedness of the complete life, the greatest is the possession of friendship." ~Epicurus
• "By three methods we may learn wisdom: first, by reflection, which is noblest; second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third, by experience, which is the bitterest." ~Confucius
• "Keep me from the wisdom that does not cry, the philosophy that does not laugh, and the pride that does not bow its head before a child." ~Khalil Gibran
• "Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom." ~Thomas Jefferson
• "The truest greatness lies in being kind, the truest wisdom in a happy mind." ~Ella Wheeler Wilcox

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Kindness is the highest form of wisdom.

noreply@blogger.com (Noel) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 00:28:00 +0000

• "Time goes by so fast, people go in and out of your life. You must never miss the opportunity to tell these people how much they mean to you." ~Isak Dinesen
• "Beginning today, treat everyone you meet as if they were going to be dead by midnight. Extend to them all the care, kindness and understanding you can muster, and do it with no thought of any reward. Your life will never be the same again." ~Og Mandino
• "Spread love everywhere you go: First of all in your own house... let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God's kindness; kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile, kindness." ~Mother Teresa
• "Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around." ~Leo Buscagalia
• "Everything we have and everything we enjoy, including our very life, is due to the kindness of others. In fact, every happiness there is in the world arises as a result of others' kindness." ~Geshe Kelsang Gyatso

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Intuition guides us to do kindness.

noreply@blogger.com (Noel) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 21:44:00 +0000

• "Intuition is a spiritual faculty and does not explain, but simply points the way." ~Florence Scovel Shinn
• "Live by intuition and inspiration and let your whole life be revelation." ~ Eileen Caddy
• "Faith is a passionate intuition." ~William Wordsworth
• "There is no instinct like that of the heart." ~Lord Byron
• "Trust your hunches. They're usually based on facts filed away just below the conscious level." ~Joyce Brothers

Love enhances intuition.

noreply@blogger.com (Noel) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 18:34:00 +0000

• "Affection is responsible for nine-tenths of whatever solid and durable happiness there is in our lives." ~C.S. Lewis
• "Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage." ~Lao Tzu
• "Let us always meet each other with smile, for smile is the beginning of love." ~Mother Teresa
• "Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies." ~Aristotle
• "Love is the beauty of the soul." ~St. Augustine

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Friendship is...

noreply@blogger.com (Noel) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 15:41:00 +0000

Here are some friendship quotes. Click through the labels below to find posts related to this one.

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