Daily Motivator - July
 

July 1

Positive influence

The actions you take do not stop with you. They travel far beyond you, to people and places you may never know about.

Any time you create new value, that value does not merely benefit you. It takes on a life of its own, setting the stage for more positive value throughout the world.

Some positive action you took in the past has made someone’s life better today. The world just became a better place because you made the choice to do the right thing, weeks, months or even years ago.

Once you take action it begins to have an influence, and you cannot control how far that influence extends. What you can do is to make your action a meaningful and beneficial one.

Each time you act, you have one chance to make sure your action has a positive influence as its consequences spread throughout life. Put the best of yourself into your actions, so they filter through the world in a beneficial way.

The consequences of your actions go far beyond you. Put goodness, truth and integrity into all you do, and you’ll lift up life in more ways than you’ll ever know.

-Ralph S. Marston

July 2

When the truth hurts

When the truth hurts, that’s when you better pay attention. In each painful truth is opportunity for new strength.

Those who agree when they know you are wrong are doing you no favor. Listen instead to those who care enough to tell the truth even when you don’t want to hear it.

If you run from the truth it will soon overwhelm you. If you fight against the truth, you will lose.

Choose instead to face the truth. Learn from it, do what you must to align yourself with it, and grow stronger.

When it hurts to hear the truth, be thankful. Because you’ve been given the opportunity to avoid much more pain later on.

Get yourself on the side of truth, whatever it may be. The more the truth hurts, the more it can help you.

-Ralph S. Marston

July 3

Move on

You’re going along great, making progress, enjoying the effort, and then an unexpected interruption crashes your efforts to the ground. So, deal with the interruption, then let it go, and move on.

You’ve worked long and hard to achieve the results you desire, but the results you end up getting are not what you wanted. Accept the disappointment, learn all you can from it, and move on.

Out of the blue, something new and wonderful suddenly comes into your life. So enjoy the moment fully, and then move on.

Whether it’s pleasant or unpleasant, expected or unexpected, fulfilling or disappointing, life brings new substance every day. Live it fully, making the most of what comes, and then get moving along.

Don’t keep fighting against the bad stuff that’s already occurred, or continue clinging to the good stuff that’s already over. Let what has happened be what has happened, and move on.

Whether it’s been wonderful or disappointing or a mixture of both, be thankful for whatever you’ve just experienced. Feel your renewed inspiration, activate your new strength, and move positively on.

— Ralph Marston

July 4

Enabled by freedom

Freedom gives us the opportunity to succeed, and also to fail. Freedom allows us to make our own way in life, and insists that we accept responsibility for doing so.

Freedom and responsibility simply cannot exist apart from each other. You can remain free only by being fully responsible for your life, your actions, and your role in a free society.

Though millions have died for it, and most would choose freedom over any alternative, freedom can at times be frightening. It often imposes difficult decisions, and requires valiant effort to maintain.

Though freedom is the best course, it is seldom the easiest. Yet freedom is worth the effort, for it is a human catalyst that has no equal.

The best way to celebrate freedom is to use it wisely. The best way to protect freedom is to make sure as many people as possible benefit from it.

Freedom enables you to do great things. Today, and every day, take freedom up on the offer.

-Ralph S. Marston

July 5

Your moment to begin

The best time to start is now. The best place to start is here.

The best resources to use are whatever you have. The best way to proceed is by doing whatever you can do.

It's fine to have ambitious and detailed plans, but the plans are not the achievement. Achievement requires action, and the sooner you start the better.

It's good to study carefully and prepare yourself for the effort. Yet much of what you need to know, you'll have to learn as you go along, so go, do, learn, achieve.

Don't let the good things you envision stay stuck in your imagination. Give them life by giving them your immediate and persistent effort.

There are countless things you can do to make life better. And now is your moment to begin.

Ralph Marston

July 6

Do something about it

Today you can decide you will. Today you can do what you decide.

Today you do not have to beg or wish or wait for permission. Today you can do what must be done, what you would love to get done.

Your dreams have teased you long enough. Today you can act to make them real.

You’ve avoided your best possibilities all too often. With your efforts today you’re able to push them into reality.

Transform the disappointments of the past into determination. Take the energy from every feeling and point it all in a positive direction.

One moment ends, another begins, and you can make use of every one. Ask yourself what you love and treasure and today, do something about it.

-Ralph S. Marston

July 7

Persistent positive example

You can choose to be kind, even when others are not. You can speak truthfully, even when some people seek to deceive.

You can be generous, respectful, polite and positive, no matter how the world responds. You can be joyful without any particular reason.

When wasting time on trivial minutia is the popular thing to do, you can fill your moments with substance. Instead of fighting to prove others wrong, you can listen, learn and understand.

If you want the world to be kind, considerate, honest and sincere, show the world how. Living your values is much more effective than preaching and lecturing about them.

A light in the darkness is always noticed, even when it is not acknowledged. Shine your light often enough, and it cannot help but make a difference.

You have the option to live a good and valuable life every day. Live well, be a persistent positive example, and allow the world to follow along.

-Ralph S. Marston

July 8

Live with intention

The distractions distract you not because of their power, but because of your weakness to resist. Intention eliminates that weakness.

When you’re clear about what’s important, you don’t have to be bothered by what’s not. When you’re committed to a specific result, distractions bounce right off you.

Ask yourself this and insist on a detailed answer. What do you intend to do today?

Your life is too important to let it be controlled by people you don’t even know. Your time is too precious to waste on things that have no meaning.

Today is filled with opportunities to create value, satisfaction, fulfillment. Instead of getting pulled in a hundred meaningless directions, choose your path and stay on it.

Live this day with respect and appreciation for the beautiful, unique life that’s yours. Live this day with intention.

-Ralph S. Marston

July 9

See the pathway

You are surrounded by valuable opportunities right now. How many of them can you see?

Mostly, you see whatever you expect to see. So on this day, in this place, what are your expectations?

There are far too many details in the world for you to notice them all. Your expectations act as a filter for your awareness.

When you change your expectations, you change the things that catch your attention. Raise your expectations, and new opportunities pop into view.

What good opportunities have you missed because you did not expect to see them? What opportunities would you like to see now?

Choose a destination, and expect to reach it. Suddenly you’ll see the pathway there.

-Ralph S. Marston

July 10

Good to be honest

It feels good to be honest, even when that honesty is difficult. It feels powerful to be on the side of truth, even when there is pain in the truth.

Admitting who you are, refreshes your spirit. Stop struggling to hide your desires, insecurities, ambitions, fears, likes and dislikes, and feel how good it feels to be genuine.

Let yourself be yourself. You’ll find it is much easier than pretending to be someone or something you are not, and a whole lot more fulfilling.

Admit what you love, and then put your energy into doing something about it. You were born to be you, and your greatest success will come from doing what you were born to do.

There is greatness within you that can only be reached by being honest about who you are. Let go of the pretenses, and let that greatness shine through.

You have a unique and valuable perspective to offer the world. Be honest, without compromise, about what matters to you, and bring your own special treasure to life.

— Ralph Marston

July 11

Doing great

You’re making progress. Now you can make more.

You’ve done some things right and some things wrong. Now you can learn from them all, and apply that experience to move forward.

You know how good it feels to stay focused on a goal, and to make a difference. Today you can earn yourself some more of that good feeling.

With your efforts, you’ve survived every challenge, and those efforts have made you strong. Now you can become even stronger.

Though you have felt fear, you have not let that fear stop you. You’ve shown yourself how much courage you have, and now you can put that courage to new use.

Through the ups and downs, setbacks and victories, pains and joys, you’ve succeeded in making your way here. You’re doing great, so keep going.

-Ralph S. Marston

July 12

Dissatisfaction

Are you always wishing you were somewhere else? Well, for the moment you’re not, so your best choice is to make the most of where you are.

Do you wish you had more money, resources, time, connections or experience? The way to get those things you don’t yet have is to make full use of what you do have.

Do you fear what you’re doing is causing you to miss out on something better? Remind yourself you’re doing what you’re doing because of the choices you’ve made, and honor those choices.

Wishing for something better takes time and energy away from actually creating something better. Stop wishing and start creating.

Pay attention to your feelings, but don’t let them destroy your effectiveness. Listen to your desires, devise a realistic plan to get where you want to be, and work that plan.

Feel your dissatisfaction, and take positive energy from it. Transform that energy into focused effort, and push your life where you want it to go.

-Ralph S. Marston

July 13

Do a little more

When you've done all that needs to be done, you've earned the opportunity to go above and beyond. Instead of stopping when you're finished, you can take advantage of the momentum you've created.

When you do just what's needed, just what's expected, you'll always manage to get by. Yet by adding a little extra effort, you can exceed expectations and move into the realm of greatness.

When you've given the task all you can, consider giving a little more. That extra effort will magnify the value of what you've already done.

In a 14-minute, 5000 meter footrace, the difference between first and second place is often just a few hundredths of a second. Just a fraction of a percent of extra effort, of extra speed, wins the race.

Extra effort transforms mediocrity into excellence. Extra effort leverages what you've already done, sometimes increasing the reward by orders of magnitude.

If you've done enough, do a little more. Discover what a big difference it can make.

-Ralph Marston

July 14

New value to create

Don’t let a few problems stop you. Don’t let a few obstacles stand in your way.

Instead of running from the problems, step boldly toward them. Instead of using them as an excuse to quit, use them to develop a path for moving forward.

With each problem, you can choose to either work through it or to work around it. What you don’t want to do is back away from it.

The value of any achievement comes from the problems that must be addressed to reach that achievement. Diamonds are more difficult to mine than gravel, and so are worth much more.

When you’re good at solving problems, you’re good at creating value. When you’re willing to deal with problems, you’re able to achieve great things.

In this life there will always be problems. And so, there will always be new value to create.

-Ralph S. Marston

July 15

Obligations and responsibilities

The obligation to do something is not the problem. The problem is your anxiety about it.

The responsibility you have is not the problem. The problem is your resentment of it.

Instead of trying to avoid obligations and responsibilities, focus on their benefits. They burden you only to the degree you see them as burdens.

Following through on your obligations will earn you respect. Upholding your responsibilities will give you influence with others.

Every person has a desire to matter, to make a difference. Obligations and responsibilities enable you to make a difference in a meaningful, positive way.

Choose to stop fighting, stop worrying, stop complaining about obligations and responsibilities. Embrace the great richness they can bring.

-Ralph S. Marston