Opportunity often it comes disguised in the form of misfortune or temporary defeat

I LOVE this quote by Napoleon Hill

Opportunity…Often it comes disguised in the form of misfortune, or temporary defeat. ~ Napoleon Hill

It demonstrates something very clear for me that I hope helps you too…. if you are currently ready to give up, throw in the towel, you’ve had enough, don’t want to try anymore (all of which describes me over the last few days!!!! ) take a look at whether what you are working for has a hidden opportunity or if there is an opportunity in your current circumstances.

I know when we are going through “bad” times it’s easy to want to give up so what you need to do is find the strength to continue from whatever source you can.

A great source can be your immediate loved ones (and I include friends in that because I love my friends!)
Talking your issue through can help bring a new perspective to it. Sometimes without knowing it something a loved one said can help you see a way out of your misfortune or temporary defeat. And even better…. a good cuddle can take your mind off many things

A recent source of strength for me has been going to church. While I am not sure about becoming a dedicated Christian and prefer my life as someone who loves spirituality I have found a sense of peace and serenity surrounds me after listening to a motivational sermon from the Pastor.

Another source of strength is in films, books, videos and audios. Being able to hear the message of people who overcome adversity always helps me. Knowing that someone was where I am now (or sometimes in a worse position) and got through it is a real source of strength for me. This weekend I watched the film The Pursuit of Happyness with Will Smith and if you need inspiring that film will help you! My main source of inspiration is Success University because it gives me access to a ton of personal development material - my main problem is knowing which one to choose!

If you are willing to work through your current circumstances you will find the gold at the end of the rainbow. Unfortunately too many people give up before they even get there which is a real shame. All those broken dreams and left behind visions that could have been something great. Of course its never too late to reconnect to that passion and bring it back!

For a daily source of inspiration I can definitely recommend Success University at http://expand.successuniversity.com

Enjoy being motivated and inspired every day by accessing hundreds of personal development courses. Download them, put them on your ipod or on CD and listen in the car. Its this kind of material that gets me through all challenging times in my life.

Right now if you are going through a challenge what you need to hear is that you can get through it…. you really can handle it…. so do all you can do surround yourself with sources that will help you.

http://expand.successuniversity.com

Technorati Tags: Diane Corriette, Napoleon Hill quote, opportunity disguised in misfortune, personal development for women, success university

Forget Stuff I need Guidance!

I have realised that I keep praying for stuff. I need more work, I need more money and I have no doubt that God will want me to have that but I am praying for stuff before I pray for wisdom, guidance or even forgiveness.

I actually thought that maybe God just didn’t want to listen to me. Maybe he didn’t want to help me or didn’t even like me because he wasn’t responding to my prayers but then I realised I am asking someone I had given nothing too. I was expecting results without even first building a relationship.

I realise now that God loves me passionately and wants me to have everything I desire but first there is a cleaning out process to do. Clearning the old clutter of my mind and allowing Him into my heart.

In my church the focus is on prosperity and naturally that turns to financial prosperty but I have decided that what I need is bigger than that. I want to know and trust God. I want to feel his presence in times of turmoil and know I can talk to Him at any time and feel nothing but serenity because I am in His presence.

My focus is going to change from stuff to salvation!

Technorati Tags: praying for wisdom from God

Ask For What You Want Session 4 : What’s the payoff?

There is a payoff in everything we do in life - even if we are not fully aware of what it is or the fact that we do something because of the payoff. No matter how bad a situation is in your life if you look deep enough you will find the payoff.

What is your payoff for not asking for what you want?

When you don’t ask do you get to play victim? Or do you get to be right about something? Maybe you feel you shouldn’t have to ask and that people should ask you if you need help, or money…..

What’s the payoff for staying stuck in your current situation? Do you get to be the hero? Does everyone get to feel sorry for you?

What’s the payoff for not losing weight? Do you get to complain about how unfair life is? Do you get to hide inside and not face the world because you are larger than most? Maybe it stops you from finding that special person you want to be with.

In everything we do there is a payoff and when you can sit and self reflect - that is look back on a day, week, month, year or even your whole life, you will recognise your payoffs for events in your life.

I had a client who would make herself ill to gain attention from her husband. The only time he paid her love and attention was when she wasn’t well and rather than ask for love and attention she would make herself ill so that she received it. Receiving love and attention was her payoff but she destroyed her health to do it.

You need to be brave and come out of denial in order to make this work but if you want to get yourself into a place where you can always ask for what you want then you must recognise what the payoff is when you don’t.

Your payoff will stop you from asking but when you look at it and work through it then it will leave you with the freedom to go ahead and ask. So first go back and make sure you have identified WHY you can’t ask and then look at what the pay off is for not asking. Armed with the answer to those two areas you will easily be able to begin the process of asking for what you want.

I hope you enjoyed reading session 4 of Ask For What You Want. Look out for other sessions in this free personal development ecourse.

And in the spirit of asking… “If you enjoy my work. Can I have a donation please?”

Just click the donate button on the right (unless you are reading this through email then you’ll have to visit the site). Thank you

Technorati Tags: Diane Corriette, how to ask for what you want, personal growth coach

Why Friends Are A Blessing

I spent the last few days in self reflection and looking at the relationship I have with people that I consider my “Inner circle”

I have never been one for having a large number of friends but always preferring to have a small group of people that I trust my life with.

Over the last few months work has stopped completely.  Knowing that my life is a reflection of what I believe I really had to look at why I had chosen to put myself in that position and I realised that there was a payoff in what I was doing.

My payoff for having no work coming in (and therefore no money) was that I got to stop having to be the “great” one.   I call myself a reluctant leader because so many people look to me for inspiration and sometimes I really don’t want it. I just want to sit down and be ordinary and hide away so I can be prone to self sabotaging my success.

So the work stopped and the money stopped. Now I needed help and I had to go out to those who know me the best (I will only ever ask for help from people I have known for years!) and tell them I’m in trouble. What I had hoped (remember this is going on unconsciously and I only realised it after self reflection) is that they would think I was useless. I thought they would believe I am not the great person that they thought I was because I was sitting at home with no work and no money.

The payoff for not having work and not bringing in money was

1. People would think I was hopeless and give up on me - which meant I no longer had to be great (its hard work being great in the eyes of others!)

2. I had to be rescued by close friends who helped me out financially

3. I could get a job, receive a monthly salary, go in and do the job and go home… never having to think about finding new clients, speaking at events, inspiring people or doing anything like that ever again….!

That was my payoff… did I like that…. of course not which is why I put my life back on track. When you know what the payoff is for any situation in your life you have two choices

a. Live with it

b. Do something about it

At least if I had chosen to live with my payoffs I would know that I could never blame anyone for how my life turns out except me!

The thing is my friends still kept telling me I was great. They still kept telling me they believed in me. They put money in my bank account because they believe in my ability to fulfill my dreams. Not having work and not making money did nothing to change their opinion of me at all.

The most powerful thing was the newest member of my inner circle and the man I call “my future husband” - when I told him about getting a job he just flat refused to accept that I would do that. He reached in me and found something I couldn’t find in myself and in that moment everything changed.

Sometimes living with the payoff can seem easier than going for your dream but what you do is rob yourself of experiencing the life that God (or whoever you believe in) has planned for you. At the end of your greatest challenge is your greatest gift if you can only see the challenge through.

I am still on my path and I have a circle of friends who wouldn’t let it be any other way. For that I am eternally greatful.  Yesterday the door opened to bringing in the potential of a fairly large coaching contract and I was told of an area I could do some work in that would bring a lot of work for me. I decided not to live with the payoff and get back to the job of helping people “discover greatness” and when I did that opportunities presented themselves.

When you are open to looking at what’s wrong and working through it you then open the door for new people, opportunities and events to enter your life.

So my friends have been a true blessing.

How are your friends a blessing? What would they do for you or with you to help you?

When was the last time you told them about the difference they made to you? I truly believe in always telling people when they made a difference to me and thanking them for it. Sometimes they don’t even realise that what they said had an impact on me - which is another reason why its important to tell them.

So let your friends know they mean the world to you and if you don’t have friends that you feel that way about go build yourself a new circle of friends!

Technorati Tags: Diane Corriette, inspirational guidance, personal growth coach

We know what we are, but know not what we may be

We know what we are, but know not what we may be.  ~ William Shakespeare

I love this Shakespeare quote because it so wonderfully demonstrates how many of us live life knowing what we are but not truly understanding or even using what we may be.

We are so much more powerful than we give ourselves credit for and even I can be guilty of that! I used to think that I played small - that I set goals that were easily achievable so that I can tell myself I am an achiever. Then I realised that I set smaller goals because that fit well into my life and I don’t particular want to save the world or be the next Mother Theresa…. I would much rather spend my time with my children and the people I love.

Now as my children grow older my goals become a little more ambitious but still nothing that will take me away from them too often. They are and always will be my first priority. My life has been shaped around school and their activities and for now that won’t change.  The arrival of the internet in my life means my vision can be achieved sitting here at my dining room table!

One of the reason I came back to personal development was not only because I badly missed it but also because I realised I was not being what I was meant to be…. I was not spreading the message of “discovering your greatness” and “living a life you love” - I was not being who I could be - a powerful and motivational speaker/writer. Its much easier to hide and believe I’m not but that doesn’t serve the world or myself.

So take a look at what you are….. you are a woman (or man), a wife (or husband), a sister (or brother), an employee (or entrepreneur) but also remember to take a look at what you can be….. are you living your greatness?

Technorati Tags: are you living your passion, Discovering Greatness, living your passion

If you always do what you always did….

There’s an age old personal development saying that goes

“If you always do what you always did. Then you’ll always get what you always got!”

Another popular way to say it is

“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results”

What do they mean….?

It means if you want your outcome to be different then you need to do something different. If you know that you like to smoke after eating lunch and you are trying to quit then arrange to do something directly after lunch that will take your mind off smoking. Whether its going for a walk or having lunch in the office (if you usually go out for lunch). This is about changing your normal pattern of doing things.

If you are trying to lose weight and you know when you buy a packet of biscuits and bring them into work you end up eating half the packet then don’t buy them! Even if you are known as the person to go and chat to because you always have biscuits

Thinking you can buy the packet and not eat any (while they sit in front of you tempting you to take one) or believing that you can buy the packet of biscuits and only eat one just won’t work. You are doing the same thing and expecting different results. Chances are in 9 times out of 10 the result will be the same. You will end up eating half the packet.

Changing your habit patterns is important if you want to make change or you want to succeed where you might normally give up.

So take a look at your usual habits and asking yourself “how’s that working out for me?” - if you find in the past it didn’t work that well then change what you are doing.

If you are looking to ask for what you want look at what normally stops you from asking or look at how you usually ask and do something different. Do you usually beg people, or make them feel guilty if they don’t help you.

If you are not getting people on your side and they usually say no when you ask for help then consider changing the way you do that.

Other areas you may want to think about when it comes to always doing what you always did….

Are you in a new relationship? - take a look at how you interacted in your past relationships and see what didn’t work. Were you distant? Could you change that and talk more. Were you unreliable? Can you make a commitment to do something and fulfill on your promise?

Are you looking to achieve a goal? Why haven’t you achieved them in the past? If you set a goal what do you do that stops you from achieving it? How can you change that? If you know you always set your targets too high “How’s that working out for you?” - if it isn’t then consider making your target easier to achieve.

Are you always arguing with your teen? When they walk through the door do you find yourself asking them “Where have you been?” or “What have you been doing?” These questions make a teen feel as if you are accusing them and puts them into defense mode… especially if they walk in expecting you to ask that. Instead just ask them how they are, ask them how their day went. Change the habit of always sounding as if you are about to complain at them and just start a conversation instead.

I hope that was useful. Remember if you always do what you always did then you will always get what you always got!

Technorati Tags: definition of insanity, Diane Corriette, doing the same thing expecting different results, if you always do what you always did you will always get what you always got

The new excitement of a personal relationship

I have started seeing someone - it’s more than dating but too early to call it more than dating

Everyone tells me how wonderful it is and everyone tells me how great it is for me (you deserve it, he’s a lucky man etc) … and it truly is…. wonderful….BUT (there is always a BUT….!) I want to get to the long term point….

I want Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell. I want to know that in 10 years time I will look at him and still find my heart racing and my loins stirring

I want to know exactly how to make him laugh when he is down, how to work through arguments and cook his favourite food (and I hate cooking!)

I want to be close to his children and go out shopping with his daughter and I want my boys picking him up in their car to go see his favourite football (soccer) team.

New is great but in my book highly over rated. Everyone and anyone can do new…. but how many of us can do long term?

My first relationship lasted 15 years and I swore I would never do long term again but something has shifted. I am older and wiser. I know what I want and I know how to compromise. I am stronger in who I am than I have ever been and I know I can do long term again. I’m more than ready and I’m just wondering what it will take.

I’d love to hear from all the long term people out there. Or anyone in a relationship for 3 years or more. What has kept you together?

Technorati Tags: long term relationships, managing long term relationships.

Am I a christian now? I’m not sure

I’m not big on labels. There are a few I will happily accept like mother. I will even take my name as another and my description as a woman but other than that I’m not big on labels.

Wife. Black woman. Tall. Gorgeous (actually I dont mind that one LOL).

All these labels seek to put me in a box and I feel I have spent far too long in way too many boxes to accept another.

The new one is the word Christian. It seems because I go to church and have accepted Christ I am now a Christian. Now I have no complaints about accepting Christ into my life I am just not sure that I like the word Christian and the feelings it brings up in me….. being restricted, following rules, believing to be better than others because I am one. None of these things relate to loving and knowing God.

All I want to do is go to church, enjoy my new family, sing some songs, praise God and give Him thanks for being in my life.

Why can’t I do that without having to give myself a label?

Or maybe I need to ask what the resistance is to accepting the label.

Either way I’m just a woman who loves church. That’s it!

Technorati Tags: accepting God, being a Christian, loving God

The Law of Attraction and the Science of Getting Rich

What are you thinking about right now? The Law of Attraction states that “whatever we think about, we bring about”. This law may initially seem like new age fluff but believe it or not, there are scientific merits to this proposition. The top quantum physicists of our time have discovered that our universe and our reality is very much directed by the “observer”.

When studying quantum particles (the smallest observable unit of matter), these scientists discovered that such particles behave in accordance with the person conducting the experiment. It the scientists “predict” that quantum particles behave in a certain way, they do. And yet, if the scientists “predict” that quantum particles behave in another way, they do. It is the “observer” that dictates the outcome of the experiment!

What does all this mean for us normal people? Well actually, these scientific experiments has far reaching implications for us as our world is made up of these same quantum particles! In this case, we are the “observer” the director and hence the creator of our reality, our world and our experience.

So, be careful of what you think about! for example, have you thoughts ever begun with the following phrases:

I don’t understand…

I don’t want…

I’m frustrated that…

I hate my…

I can’t figure out …

I’m stressed about…

I’m worried that…

I should be able to… but I can’t…

Why am I having so much trouble?

The Law of Attraction indifferent to the words preceding your thought. Whatever you think about you will attract into your life. When you think “I don’t understand why bad things always happen to me?”, you are “attracting” bad things into your life. When you think “I want to get out of debt”, you are attracting more debt into your life. When you think “I’m worried I will get sick”, you are attracting sickness into your life! The Law of Attraction brings about what you focus on even if it is not what you want. Get it?

If you understand this principle, here are some examples of how to make the law of attraction work to support you rather than to act against you. Try observing your thoughts and changing your thinking in the following way:

“I want to get out of debt” to “I want to earn amazing riches”

“I hate my boss” to “I look forward to owning my own business”

“I don’t understand why he is so lazy” to “I love it when he helps out around the house”

“I’m stressed about this project” to “I always create amazing results in my projects”

“I’m worried about getting sick” to “I experience vibrant health daily”

Now that we have a better understanding of the Law of Attraction, it is no surprise why so many people struggle with regards to money. It is been said that “the rich get richer while the poor get poorer”. This is actually the Law of Attraction in action. Because the wealthy have money, they often think about how to best use their money and hence they attract more money. The poor on the other hand often think about their present lack of money and unfortunately, that also attracts lack into their lives. Currently, 96% of the world’s wealth is being earned by just 1% of the population!

To address this issue, the main teachers behind the movie is launching a program is called “The Science of Getting Rich” and it is based on employing the law of attraction to create wealth. This amazing program is based on the principles and philosophies outlined in a book of the same title written in 1910 by Wallace D Wattles. This is the same book that inspired the movie.

What is the Science of Getting Rich about? Well in the words of Wallace D. Wattles, “The ownership of money and property comes as a result of doing things in a certain way. Those who do things in this certain way, whether on purpose or accidentally, get rich. Those who do not do things in this certain way, no matter how hard they work or how able they are, remain poor. It is a natural law that like causes always produce like effects. Therefore, any man or woman who learns to do things in this certain way will infallibly get rich.” The Science of Getting Rich Seminar is all about teaching how to do things in this “certain” way to create wealth.

Click here to learn more about the Science of Getting Rich Seminar and how you can profit from the distribution of the program.

Technorati Tags: Bob Proctor, Science of Getting Rich Seminar, Science of Gettting Rich, Wallace D Wattles

What’s Your Passion

What’s your passion and how can you apply it to the real world to actually benefit people or animals, the environment, the world

I remember being asked this question years ago and it took me a long time to finally express my passion for writing because I really didn’t think that anything I wrote would really impact people.

Once I began writing articles and receiving emails from people who had read them and enjoyed them I knew I had to overcome my insecurities and reach out for moments of brilliance because in those moments I write my best work.

We all have a passion for something and we don’t always have to save the world or make it a deep far reaching impact kind of passion. You can put all of your passion into raising healthy, well rounded, loving children who are ready to live their life according to what they are passionate about.

Or you can choose to take in damaged and abandoned animals giving them a loving home where they can flourish and overcome their fears and hurt.

Having a passion helps to take you out of any concerns, fears and worries you may have and place you into a place of joy and “in the moment” living because when you are truly engrossed in a passion you forget everything and every one around you!

In all my years of coaching when I listened to someone in the workplace talk about why their performance is failing fast I always knew it wasn’t whatever reason they presented. They had convinced themselves that the reason they were not getting as much done, or hitting their targets was become of something related to their job.

However I knew something different! Because living your passion doesn’t mean you have to give up your job. I have a passion for dancing but being a dance teacher or a professional dancer at 41 is definitely out of my reach… I am a realist after all. But just being able to go out and dance, whether it was to salsa, in a club, to African drumming music… whatever I was dancing to I didn’t care just as long as I got to dance. Dancing brings me a sense of joy that cannot be matched by anything, it makes me laugh, and provides me with some exercise.

Dancing is one of my greatest loves, my biggest passions next to writing and I give thanks every day for being able to get up and shake my thang!

If your passion involves helping others this has a wonderful effect not only on the people you help but on your life, especially during times of uncertainty. When life is not working the way we feel it should be it’s very easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of not knowing what to do and trying to “fix” the problem. When your passion involves you helping others it gives you some time away from your own problems and in those moments, when we are not focusing on what’s wrong, it is easier to find solutions.

Whenever I meet an under performing employee my first task would always be to identify what their passion is and how they can apply that to the real world to actual benefit not only themselves but also other people. Everyone has a passion, even those people who believe they really don’t and all it takes is the willingness to look at what it could be.

Of course a few clients went on to leave their job and actually live their passion which I always love to see happen because none of us should be doing anything we are not 100% passionate about not even for the money! But the majority found a new lease of life, a new sense of purpose that changed their perspective.

When you have something in your life you are truly passionate about life becomes a joy. It doesn’t matter how much work you have to deal with, what your colleagues are like, if you are worried about money, whether your children are driving you crazy… in fact what you find is that all of that stuff seems to “magically” change yet nothing has really changed except your outlook on life!

So please take the time to discover your passion especially if you find yourself in a place where you are fearful about the future or uncertain about what to do next and allow it to give you some “me time” because during those moments we can receive our greatest answers to whatever questions we may have.

Write if you love to, paint if you love to, walk for miles if you love to, make plans to visit a different part of the world every six months…… Do whatever you have to, to ensure that every day you have something to look forward to, something that fills you with passion and makes your soul sing with joy.

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Looking to be inspired every day? Check out Success University.

Earl Nightingale taught me that making money is a result of being successful not the other way around! Learn how to be successful first and earn money second. You can do both with Success University.

http://expand.successuniversity.com

Technorati Tags: Diane Corriette, Getting IT Back, how to discover passion, what's your passion

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