There’s an old story that goes something like this.

There was a man who had been imprisoned for a crime he didn’t commit. He was determined to get out so he attempts to dig his way to freedom with a spoon.

Anyway, he digs day and night and after years of bone-wearying struggle, his hands all calloused and bloody, he finally realizes his efforts are worthless and he gives up. With a face full of tears and constriction in his throat as he imagines living out his days in prison, he leans back on the door of his cell, only to discover it was unlocked all along.

Okay so maybe there never was a guy who tried to dig out of prison with a spoon but the point is clear – the prison that you imagine that constrains you doesn’t really exist.

You see the only thing that creates a feeling of imprisonment is our own minds. Our minds are capable of enormous flights of fancy but here’s the truth: the one who tries with everything in their power to escape the prison is actually the prison itself.

“I know but one freedom and that is the freedom of the mind.”

Why does this topic matter today?

We are constantly flooded with thoughts, ideas and information coming through the five senses, other people, the newspapers and TV. These thoughts, ideas and information penetrate the mind, whether we are aware of this process or not.

More than ever I hear “I can’t do this because….”. “What if I do this or that and such and such happens?” “I have to get out of this situation or I’m going to…”

Those are phrases that create prisons.

The reality is that we cannot have an idea unless we also have the capacity to realize it’s presence at the same time.

That’s true freedom.

The only limitations we put on ourselves or on our life come from within. They come from the thoughts we have and the stories we tell ourselves about the thoughts we’re having. But when you really become aware of what your mind is doing, while you are still going to have certain thoughts that create some unpleasant emotions, the difference is that now you are not going to believe the story your mind generates to accompany the sensations you’re having to be you or to be true.

Most people operate at an unconscious level as though their thoughts choose them…as though they “can’t help how they think” but this is actually not true. Thoughts may pop into your head that aren’t that “great” according to you but YOU get to decide what you will do with that thought, just as you get to decide how you will react to everything you experience in your life.

Your thoughts, and more importantly the stories you tell yourself about them, have the ability to impose profound limitations as well as infinite freedom.

The reality is that we cannot have an idea unless we also have the capacity to realize it prescence at the same time.

That’s true freedom.

One of my very first teachers used to tell me, when I would be stuck in a rut, interpreting something, getting in my own way, she’d tell me: “Change your mind.”

It was such a novel concept. Change my mind. You mean there’s another way to see this? Invariably, when I changed my mind, I had a new preview and in that, a new experience. One of my own choosing.

And I realized, I could do this in every area of my life and come out ahead.

The only limitations we put on ourselves or on our life come from within. They come from the thoughts we have and the stories we tell ourselves about the thoughts we’re having. But when you really become aware of what your mind is doing, while you are still going to have certain thoughts that create some unpleasant emotions, the difference is that now you are not going to believe the story your mind generates to accompany the sensations you’re having to be you or to be true.

If you do not filter the thoughts that enter your mind, you stop to be a
free person, and behave and act like a puppet on a string, though no one
will admit this.

Others may object, and say that the thoughts that pass through your mind are
yours, but are they? Have you deliberately and attentively created every thought
that entered your mind?

• Why let outside influences control your mind and life?
• Why let other people’s thoughts control your life and mind?
• Do you want to make your mind free or do you prefer to enslave it to other
  people’s opinions and thoughts?

If you leave your mind open to every  thought that passes by, you put your  life in other people’s hands, and without
realizing it, you accept their thoughts and act in accordance with them.

Every person is differently affected by external thoughts. Certain thoughts  and ideas we ignore, and others spur us to immediate action. Usually, thoughts  concerning subjects we love have more power on us than other thoughts, but even
thoughts and ideas that we don’t care about, if we are frequently exposed to them, eventually sink into the subconscious mind and affect us.

We all must stop and readdress what is important in our lives.  Each of us is different, but the truth in life is all about purpose and attaining a higher calling.  What matters are not the materials you accumulate and other things that cannot be brought with you when your time is up?   What is the legacy you leave behind, what is the message people remember about you?

Your thoughts, and more importantly the stories you tell yourself about them, have the ability to impose profound limitations as well as infinite freedom.

Which do you choose?

I’ll leave you with this quick poem from Rumi, the Persian mystic poet.

I have lived on the lip
of insanity, wanting to know reasons,
knocking on a door. It opens.
I’ve been knocking from the inside!

We have been created to live our life in freedom, health and wealth. If our life  doesn’t look like that, it means we block ourselves by our thoughts. Our  thoughts are very powerful instruments we use to either create happiness and  wealth, or sickness and poverty.

Once you’ve learned how to become the master of your thoughts, you become the  master of your life!

Your life does not depend on others. It depends on your own ability to master  your thoughts.

What freedom can you open yourself up to today?

To Your Success,

This policy is valid from 27 December 2011

This blog is a blog written and edited by me. For questions about this blog, please contact bjmarketingtips@gmail.com.

This blog accepts forms of cash advertising, sponsorship, paid insertions or other forms of compensation.

The compensation received may influence the advertising content, topics or posts made in this blog. That content, advertising space or post may not always be identified as paid or sponsored content.

The owner(s) of this blog is compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. Even though the owner(s) of this blog receives compensation for our posts or advertisements, we always give our honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics or products. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the bloggers’ own. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question.

This blog does not contain any content which might present a conflict of interest.

To get your own policy, go to http://www.disclosurepolicy.org

There is a famous story about a block of marble back in the 1400s. For over 40 years the block of marble was deemed flawed, useless and had been cast aside. Many sculptors looked at it but none believed it to be useful for sculpture until in 1501 a 26-year-old young man saw something very different. He alone saw the potential inherent in this block of marble.

Inside what others saw as a formless mass of stone, the young sculptor saw the heroic beauty, grace and wonder of a man who would one day become known to the world as David. Michelangelo could see David inside, he just had to release (his potential) by chipping away at the marble that had trapped him inside.

This article is about potential; what it is and why so few people truly achieve it. Let’s begin by defining what potential actually is. Here are just a few definitions:

- possible but not yet actual
– capable of being or becoming but not yet in existence
– latent but unrealized talent, ability or capacity
– unrealized excellence or ability that may or may not be developed

Potential.    People may tell you that you have lots of it … that you are wasting yours … or that you have none.

Yet few people really know what potential is. And even fewer realize that discovering your potential allows you to change your fate … redefine your destiny .. and change your life in the process of developing your potential.

Your personal potential describes …

• The activities and tasks you can excel at: the hobbies, sports, jobs and relationships you can be great at.
• The person you can become: the professions, social status and fame you can attain.
• What it is possible for you to achieve: the life goals, wealth, honors, awards as well as the impact you can have on the world

Potential comes from the root words “potency” and “potent” and refers to all the things you can be successful at if you develop and use your gifts, talents and natural abilities.

What you love to do and what you are great at … are great guides to creating a life. Together they create a life working at what you love … and being handsomely paid to do it.
There is inside you
All of the potential
To be whatever you want to be;
All of the energy
To do whatever you want to do.
Imagine yourself as you would like to be,
Doing what you want to do,
And each day, take one step
Towards your dream.
And though at times it may seem too
difficult to continue,
Hold on to your dream.
One morning you will awake to find
That you are the person you dreamed of,
Doing what you wanted to do,
Simply because you had the courage
To believe in your potential
And to hold on to your dream.

When you know the life you are meant to be living, it is easier to make good choices and avoid distractions and things that seem like a good idea but are going to lead you astray. The world is full of wrong turns, pied pipers and others who would lead you stray just to have company on their own journey through life.

To stay on your path, and life the life you were meant to .. takes courage, determination, and a reliable compass.

There are powers inside of you
which, if you could discover and
use, would make of you everything
you ever dreamed or imagined
you could become.

- Orison Swett Marsden

Tony Robbins once said that your past does equal your future. I totally agree. While it might be a guide, your past is not a predictor of your potential. You can choose to set your potential free now. Anne Frank put it so well when she said that, “Everyone has inside of him a piece of good news. The good news is that you don’t know how great you can be! How much you can love, what you can accomplish and what your true potential is!”

 You are a very capable person and you have a lot going for you… so expand on this fact and grow to feel more capable about yourself as a person!

Allow yourself to realize that you have the power of possibility and awareness…

You Can Do It! Believe In Yourself And Achieve Your Future Desires!

“Every one’s got it in him, if he’ll only make up his mind and stick at it. None of us is born with a stop-valve on his powers or with a set limit to his capacities, There’s no limit possible to the expansion of each one of us.” -Charles M Schwab

To Your Success,

This policy is valid from 27 December 2011

This blog is a blog written and edited by me. For questions about this blog, please contact bjmarketingtips@gmail.com.

This blog accepts forms of cash advertising, sponsorship, paid insertions or other forms of compensation.

The compensation received may influence the advertising content, topics or posts made in this blog. That content, advertising space or post may not always be identified as paid or sponsored content.

The owner(s) of this blog is compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. Even though the owner(s) of this blog receives compensation for our posts or advertisements, we always give our honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics or products. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the bloggers’ own. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question.

This blog does not contain any content which might present a conflict of interest.

To get your own policy, go to http://www.disclosurepolicy.org

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Decisions, decisions, decisions…
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You can apply this law in two ways. You could [...] Continue Reading…