Living Life Abundantly

Success is for everyone. Some people are afraid of success because they think that it is only meant for a selected few, but that is not true at all.

In fact, success can be achieved by anyone, if they want it badly enough. If you have the right attitude, success can easily be yours. Just as a chef who is trying to cook up a dish will need to have the right ingredients, so should you, if you are planning to meet your own success.

Try visualizing your way to success. One of the quickest ways to reach your goals is by closing your eyes and imagining that you already have. Visualizing your future success in vivid detail can help you to start feeling more successful right now. As a result, your behaviors and actions will change, reflecting a newfound confidence in your abilities. This confidence, coupled with a clear vision of what you want to achieve, will help you reach your goals with ease.

If you want to achieve success, give yourself a bigger chance by:

Believing in yourself. To be able to achieve great heights for yourself, you have to believe in your power to do things and make things happen. Even if everything seems impossible and all the signs are pointing to your failure, you have to believe that you are powerful enough to see things through that no amount of trouble can ever shake you and discourage you from getting what you want.

Prioritize your goals, and value the best things in your life. If you’re working towards specific ends, be sure to weigh its importance against other obligations in your life. This will enable you to develop a practical timeline for personal goals and encourages confidence in your successes. Success will taste so much sweeter if you make your goals manageable!

Having a clear vision of what you really want in life. Ask yourself what you want to be and what you want to achieve. By knowing this, you give yourself and your journey a better direction. More importantly, when you are doing something you want to do, you will do all you can to get there. Fulfillment will mean so much more because it is more personal and definitely straight to the heart.

Being responsible enough to take make a decision for yourself and face situations on your own. Some people are quick to make decisions for their lives without even thinking of the consequence of their actions. When something goes wrong, they are quick to turn away from what has happened, and try to wash their hands off of all the dirt and guilt.

A great tip for personal development is to always share your success. If you do not share your success, it is not real success because you are not inspiring others to achieve their goals. Real success comes by telling others about what you have accomplished and inspiring them to succeed with their goals.

Writing a perfect plan. A plan is your blueprint for success. If you write a well-thought plan your claim over success will be stronger because a plan will enable you to take calculated steps towards your goal. Writing a plan strengthens your journey. It gives you a sense of purpose. It gives you a formidable reason.

Taking action and making things happen. Writing a plan is one thing, taking action is another. It does not really matter how good your plan is. If you are not going to do anything about it, it will always remain a plan and nothing else. Your good ideas are good for nothing unless you take action now. You can dream about success but until you take that step to make things happen, success will forever be in your dreams.

Develop your body so that it becomes helpful to your success. You might have to work a lot so make sure your body is up to the task. Exercise regularly and go to a doctor at least once a year for a complete check-up. Take care of your body and it won’t get in your way.

Being grateful for what you have. Sometimes success is not really about winning. A lot of people get to the acme of their dreams but this does not automatically award them great happiness and satisfaction. Instead of feeling complete, they feel that something is missing and what they do not realize is that what is missing is the feeling gratefulness. They are on top but they are not satisfied and they will always try to fill in the void, and they will not be able to do it until they learn to appreciate life, be grateful for what they have and learn to give back.

It is not easy to achieve personal growth, but if you are able to achieve this, it can do wonders for you. There are so many benefits that you can enjoy when you are able acquire the right skills and qualities.

Personal Growth Skills That You Need

When you work on altering your life, success is going to be your main goal. All efforts will mean nothing when you achieve nothing in the end. To ensure success, you need to have the right tools and the following are quite essential for you to have:

Passion. Passion is a natural fuel that allows a person to break through barriers. It gives one the natural angst to want success and it empowers even the weakest person.

Hunger for learning. Wisdom and knowledge allows a person to spread his wings and enables him to reach out to borders he normally cannot reach. Your hunger for learning will teach you to be ambitious.

Self-awareness. You have to know who you are and you have to get in tune with your strengths and your weaknesses, so that you can use them well in your endeavors.

Boldness. Risks are hard to take but those who gain the courage to go outside the box achieve things that will set them apart from all the others. Risks are dangerous about they can make a big difference in your life.

Vision. What do you want to achieve? You should be able to picture your dreams and you should not be limited by society and your own fears. Picture success and picture yourself in it.

When to Change

Change is part of life and if you are experiencing the following things, then you should start finding a way out of your miserable life:

Are you having trouble committing to something? You have great dreams and you have awesome ideas. You find it quite easy to set yourself to do something, but you are unable to finish what you’ve started. Often times, you easily lose focus and you jump to other things, as easily as you have gone to the last thing you have tried to do.

Are you always thinking of quitting? You have very poor survival skills. At a small sign of a threat, you cower and back down. You are a coward and you are afraid of risks.

Are you always feeling victimized? No matter what you do, you are oppressed and put down by the people you deal with. People always find fault at what you do and you cannot please anyone.

Are you always stuck in the same situation? Your life is wretched and every time you get yourself out of a situation, you end up being back there again. It is like you are destined to live the life that you have now.

Are you unable to forgive yourself? Have you done something wrong that has caused some catastrophic effects in your life? Forgiveness is not only for others, it is also for yourself. You cannot dwell on the wrong things you have done. You have to forgive yourself and learn from your mistakes, instead.

If any of these apply to you, then now would be a good time for you to consider change and work towards personal growth.

Our U Grow Girl! group is blazing hot and as always making moves to “be the change” we wish to see in the world.

Through the months we have individually reached and achieved goals. We have overcome obstacles with mountain moving faith and have pushed forward and onward. While we are focused on supporting one another we are also interested in uplifting and empowering others.

Our monthly meetings are always touching and inspiring, we are often moved to tears…Our last meeting was no different. We had a special guest, Ms. Rosie from Floodgates Of Faith Christian Ministry. Ms. Rosie is an amazing woman who exudes the love of God. She explained to us how God put it on her heart and led her to open a shelter. This is no ordinary shelter…. it’s not even called a shelter, it is known as Yarborough Estate, and referred to as home by its residents.

We learned quite a bit from Ms. Rosie. One of the things that stood out most for me was learning that most shelters do not accept male children which forces women to leave their sons in the care of someone else. Ms. Rosie’s estate accepts women with male and female children. Our U Grow Girl! group believes organizations like this must be supported and we learned that funding for such programs are limited. While we did not make a financial contribution we did send Ms. Rosie to the estate with lots of love, prayers, clothing, shoes, accessories, and toiletries.

“We can do no great things, only small things with great love.” — Mother Teresa

If you can make ANY type of contribution please do…here’s the contact info

Floodgates Of Faith Christian Ministry
Phone:
310-637-8271 (Service/Intake and Administration)
310-766-3562 (After Hours) (24-hours)

Overview
The program provides shelter for women with children in Los Angeles County. There are no geographic restrictions.

Administrative Hours
Monday through Friday, 9:00am to 4:00pm.

Administrative Description
This is a private, non-profit organization that is funded by independent fund raising and the Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services. Services are provided by paraprofessional staff and volunteers.

Site Hours
Monday through Sunday, 24 hours per day.

Cross Street
El Segundo Blvd.

Access
The site is fully accessible to people who use wheelchairs.

Shelter
PROGRAM/ELIGIBILITY
The program provides shelter for women with children in the Willowbrook area. Services include a transitional shelter for women with children. The shelter accepts boys and girls 17 years and younger. The program cannot accept men with children; they are referred to other community agencies for shelter assistance. The average length of stay for the transitional shelter is four months. Services are restricted to CalWorks recipients who are willing to participate in the GAIN Program. There are no geographic restrictions.

The transitional shelter can accommodate 14 families. Services include bedding, linen, two meal and shower facilities. Each family is responsible for preparing meals. Residents are required to assist with chores; participate in case management and job training; abide by the 10:00pm curfew and 4:45am wake up times; save a portion of their income; and abide by shelter rules.

LANGUAGES OTHER THAN ENGLISH
Spanish

APPLICATION PROCEDURE
Call to apply. An appointment is required. Shelter staff conducts a brief telephone interview to determine eligibility. Eligible applications are scheduled an interview with the program manager within 48 to 72 hours. Referrals are accepted from Info Line and other social service agencies. Some form of ID is required.

HOURS
Intake hours for transitional shelter are Monday through Sunday, 24 hours a day.

FEES/PAYMENT SOURCE
There are no fees for services.

The ultimate timeless song that reminds us we must be our brothers keeper! We Are The World

There comes a time
When we heed a certain call
When the world must come together as one
There are people dying
And it’s time to lend a hand to life
The greatest gift of all

We can’t go on
Pretending day by day
That someone, somewhere will soon make a change
We are all a part of
God’s great big family
And the truth, you know love is all we need

[Chorus]
We are the world
We are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day
So let’s start giving
There’s a choice we’re making
We’re saving our own lives
It’s true we’ll make a better day
Just you and me

Send them your heart
So they’ll know that someone cares
And their lives will be stronger and free
As God has shown us by turning stone to bread
So we all must lend a helping hand

[Chorus]
We are the world
We are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day
So let’s start giving
There’s a choice we’re making
We’re saving our own lives
It’s true we’ll make a better day
Just you and me

When you’re down and out
There seems no hope at all
But if you just believe
There’s no way we can fall
Well, well, well, well, let us realize
That a change will only come
When we stand together as one

[Chorus]
We are the world
We are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day
So let’s start giving
There’s a choice we’re making
We’re saving our own lives
It’s true we’ll make a better day
Just you and me

Part 2 – Jasmuheen discusses the Universal Laws and their application in creating positive change plus permanent peace on earth. Presented as part of the Universal Harmonization Program for the Embassy of Peace. Excerpt from the book “In Resonance”.

Related Blogs

• Related Blogs on Universal Laws with Jasmuheen – Part 4 of 4

Part 3 – Jasmuheen discusses the Universal Laws and their application in creating positive change plus permanent peace on earth. Presented as part of the Universal Harmonization Program for the Embassy of Peace. Excerpt from the book “In Resonance”.

Related Blogs

• Related Blogs on Universal Laws with Jasmuheen – Part 3 of 4
• ȹÚἇϞṫῧᵯ ₰ἕẫɸḭҋ ᶁǣ §ɧẫறѦϞḭḉ ξѷ₰ƱϡÏǾҋ ᶂ ἕӝẫɦԂǣᶁ Ϛȫʂϻḭḉ Ҫ …

Part 2 – Jasmuheen discusses the Universal Laws and their application in creating positive change plus permanent peace on earth. Presented as part of the Universal Harmonization Program for the Embassy of Peace. Excerpt from the book “In Resonance”.

Part 1 – Jasmuheen discusses the Universal Laws and their application in creating positive change plus permanent peace on earth. Presented as part of the Universal Harmonization Program for the Embassy of Peace. Excerpt from the book “In Resonance”.

I’ve been thinking a LOT about this since the first
time I watched it, especially with all the talk
these days of “bailouts” and rescue plans.

Yeah right. You and I both know the only REAL solution
is the one you give yourself…

3 Keys To Everything»

And, quite honestly, I’m feeling very excited for you to see this too.
Because it’s all about something powerful that could change
everything about how you live your life.

I’ve been implementing the suggestions here for a while now,
and even taking just the smallest steps makes very BIG results.

As a matter of fact, when I think how my whole
frame of reference has changed, I feel so thankful.

Honestly, it is like night and day.
And what’s more, I can say without any
hesitation that I love my life now.

No more sitting around with my fingers crossed, just hoping for the best.

I live abundantly every single day. And you can too.

This is the Ultimate Solution»

But not so long ago, things were very different for me.
My life was ruled by whatever happened around me. Maybe
you fall into that trap too.

For example if the news is full of gloom and doom, you
absorb that as your reality, and it negatively impacts how you
think about almost everything.

Even worse, it can happen when you share your goals
and dreams with those near and dear to you–and their
“well meaning” comments leave you feeling like you
must have been crazy to think you could do it.

Do you ever feel like that?

If you do, I have some really good news for you.

You see, today you can start implementing three powerful
but simple steps that will positively impact your life.

In fact, if you listen closely to this guy, you’ll soon be blazing
past every stubborn obstacle in your path. It’s surprisingly easy
once you finally “get it”.

Listen To This Guy…(click here)»

I can say this with absolute certainty because I’ve experienced an
exciting shift in my thinking, and so have others I’ve shared this with.
It totally impacts your life in the most positive way.

And once you find that “sweet spot” in HOW you think,
it’s with you all the time.

When you watch this, you might even want to take a
few notes so you don’t miss a thing.

I promise you’ll feel the difference as soon as you start doing this.

This is powerful in it’s simplicity, as you will soon see.

WATCH The VIDEO NOW!!!!!!!

To your massive prosperity.

A few months ago I received the following email foward from Coach Ace:

Subject: Fw: CASTING FROM G’s TO GENTS….PASS THIS ON TO LIL POOKIE AND ‘NEM

The Power Of Email:

I forwarded the email to the usual suspects including my little cousin Miece.

As a result of that email, her boyfriend auditioned for and made the show!

Of course he granted yours truly an interview. The show airs tonight on MTV at 10pm.  Here’s my interview with Blue.

G’s to Gents Season 2: Interview with Blue

(mostly uncensored… thanks Kelly for helping me think of questions to ask)

Marenda: How did you get started on the show and what made you want to be part of it?

Blue: My girl Jamice got me on the show. She made me go to the audition. I really didn’t want to be on it because I thought it was fake. But I did it for her.  Eventually it sinked in that I’m 22 years old and that I need to change.  I couldn’t be out in the streets forever. So  I wanted to change and I finally realized that show could give me that opportunity.

Marenda: What is your personal definition of a G?

Blue: A “G” is someone who isn’t an extra. If you really hard then u not gonna put your business out there like that… that’s stupid. It’s someone who can keep to themselves. It’s someone who is real about who they are because people see through bitchassness.

Marenda: What is the major difference between a G and a Gent?

Blue: A gentleman is someone who is suppose to be respectful and have manners. Someone who is not suppose to take off on people.  A “G” is a person who don’t give a f*** about his sh**. If someone is poppin off at the mouth then that “G” will be thundering (catching fade- fighting) in the street.

Marenda: Being on the show, was it harder than you thought it would be, or was it easier?

Blue: It was a lot harder because I wanted to beat majority of the dudes asses everyday. I’m a fighter, that’s what I do. But I knew I needed to change. That’s why I keep quiet and bit my tongue, so I wouldn’t hit no one and get sent home.

Marenda: Have you ever done anything like this before?

Blue: No. Never. I’m from the hood. N****s in the hood don’t do shi** like this. What hood n***a have you seen on the reality show?

Marenda: Did the cameras really follow you every where?

Blue: Yes. Every- f’n-where. They even watching you when you sleep. The only time they gave us some type of privacy is when we in the bathroom.

Marenda: Using one word, how would you describe your experience on the show?

Blue: Transformation!!!

Marenda: What if anything did you learn about yourself from the show?

Blue: That I’m not stupid. I’m not a dumb-ass like others. Instead of using my fists, I can use my vocabulary.  I’m strong. I can do anything once I put my mind to it.

Marenda: If you had it to do again would you do it?

Blue: Yeah, because I’ve learned a lot. It helped me be a better person, son, brother, boyfriend, everything you can think of.

Marenda: What do you think people will gain from watching this show? (Why should people watch?)

Blue: People think that this sh** is scripted, like I did . But it’s not. It’s real life. They are watching real life things going on. They might cut some stuff out for time, but everything is real on there. The Blue you see on the show is the Blue you get in person. I’m real about my sh**, period.

This show is about real people getting an opportunity to change their lives forever when they had nothing before. I was one of those people. Yeah, there are some fake people on there, and that’s entertaining, but there are real people too.

But people should watch it because:

# 1.  I’m on there; and

# 2. They can see n****’s trying to change their lives and maybe learn something from it;

# 3. The show is worth watching. Trust me!!! It’s a lot of sh** going down!

I received this awesome email from my friend Dan:

Hey Marenda!

Thanks for the email with the great photos. I was there with my father. Monday night we went into town and on our way back to the Metro station we actually had Barack (and his motorcade) pass directly in front of us (like 20-30 feet) at an intersection. We were beside ourselves to have seen him the night before!! My dad: “That was HIM! We saw him!”

On Tuesday we were on the Mall basically on the opposite side of the field from the original (old) Smithsonian building. I honestly believe I saw the best of Americans and the best of HUMANS in what I witnessed on the Mall that awesome day! I can’t overstate the amazing feeling I had throughout the day. Everyone, and I do mean everyone, was warm, gracious, pleasant, etc. I witnessed so many things I wanted more people to see. I know you must have felt and seen it too. I remember feeling an overwhelming good sensation.

My soul was singing…especially when I looked over and saw my dad, an old 60′s liberal and devout pastor, whom I admire and owe so much, smiling with tears in his eyes at what he saw during the swearing-in. He certainly wasn’t alone! It meant so much to share it with him (and the 2 million others from around the globe).

It was a life-changer for me.

I’m so glad you were able to attend too. I look forward to our next chance to talk, share, fellowship and party!…all over again.

Here’s to a peaceful and more blessed ’09!

Thanks! My best to you and yours!

Dan

PS-Congrats on top 10K! Thankfully, not EVERYTHING changes…the cream always rises!

Many people live by default unwilling to accept responsibility for the circumstances of their lives or their environment. I’ve heard and seen the mantra “2009 IS MINE” over and over. If 2009 is yours, what are you doing differently from what you did in 2008? Remember, to do the same things expecting different results is insanity!

What if I told you that you could drastically improve the quality of your life, the life of those around you, and your environment by simply controlling your emotions, using the power of prayer, and by thinking the right thoughts? Would you tell me its impossible? Or Would you have an open mind willing to try it for yourself? Before you answer that question please watch this video:

How To Use Your Mind To Get What You Want!»

Exactly how does one think outside of the box?

Obviously, this is something which is inherently a task to be undertaken by an individual – let us look at an example of “outside the box” thinking.

Try cutting a cake into eight slices with three cuts or less.

A lot of people will have some difficulty thinking of how this could be done; but the answer is to look at the cake differently. You can cut the cake into halves and stack them on top of each other. Cut these two halves into halves again and then stack all of these pieces and make one last cut – you now have eight slices, all thanks to “outside the box” thinking.

Another example would be solving this: here are four words: add, subtract, multiply, decrease – which does not belong? Most would tell you right away that “decrease” is the odd word out here. Why? Because all the other words are mathematical terms and “decrease” is not. However, an out of the box thinker might say that “add” is the one which does not fit, having three letters instead of six or more. There are several right answers here and the more creative your answer, the more you will stand out.

The way our minds usually work when solving a problem is to draw on our past. For instance, what if you were asked to name two days whose names start with the letter T. You’d sat Tuesday and Thursday, right? What about Tomorrow and Today? That is thinking out of the box. Companies are always testing new products to make sure that their design is effective and provides a good cost/benefit ratio. However, most of these companies are losing out by only looking to their past to provide a template for future development. While patterns be very useful for some activities (like driving), these patterns can keep us from coming up with effective alternate solutions when we face problems.

One thing you can do to break your pattern-based way of thinking is to try out the reverse of what you would normally do; this lets you get a new and different perspective on the problem. This is how Henry Ford came up with his innovations. He began with “bring people to work” and by looking at things differently, decided to try “bringing work to the people” – which is what made him such a success.

Another method to find creative solutions is to try not to think about the subject. Instead, think about people or subjects in motion and use this as your basis for an entirely new design or solution.

If you want to really think outside of the box, don’t worry if some of your ideas are really off the wall – they might be just crazy enough to work!

Move away from your old, rigid ways of thinking and go ahead and use your absurd ideas; consider all of your ideas, no matter how odd.

Let go of the question and let go of your stress by not trying to force the square peg of your creativity into the round hole of the problem. Once you let all of this go, you may find that the solution comes right to you.

You can try out of the box thinking just for fun too. Just don’t do it in situations where it could cause you trouble!

Using creative thinking, you can put together disparate elements to produce truly innovative solutions. Being someone who thinks outside of the box can work well for you professionally – and is rewarding in its own right as well.

Never forget that you could have your very own brand of genius. You may have some creative and different ideas which can assist you in your personal growth. That’s what living life abundantly is all about.

Try thinking a little differently and you may be surprised at how effective you can be in solving problems. Think outside of the box and you can achieve things that may surprise you»

The helicopters were in full effect last night. I don’t know the full scope of what happened last night in my neighborhood, but of course I heard that it was gang related. Its crazy… Like I said, I don’t know what really happened but I’m hopeful that gangsta’s in Compton and around the country will change their thinking and change their lives!

A gunman armed with a high-powered military-style assault rifle traded fire with sheriff’s deputies Tuesday night on a city street in Compton before fleeing on foot, authorities said……..

Compton, which had seen a downturn in violence over the last two years, has had six homicides since April 17, including the shooting deaths of a man in a wheelchair and the friend who was pushing him.

Instead of venting my frustration about what’s happening in my city I’ll meditate on this blast from the past. Believe it or not some gangsta’s read (I don’t know if they read my blog. They are all over Myspace and Youtube)…but if any happen to stop by here, maybe they’ll watch this video and introspect. Hope Springs Eternal.

Despite what you may have seen on the news we are still birthing a new Compton. The media hasn’t mentioned any of the good things happening here but is always quick to show up to report anything bad.