Curious about Daring: How Daring Are You? When, How and Why Does It Work for You?

Definition of Daring: Boldness; fearlessness; adventurousness; also, a daring act.

“Be daring, be different, be impractical, be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the commonplace, the slaves of the ordinary.” - Cecil Beaton, English photographer

We all experience and enjoy our comfort zones. When we dare to step out of one – or more – we are not so comfortable. It is a challenge to be different and not always “play it safe.” I submit to you, however, that daring will add excitement and a new dimension to your life. By daring to be different, you will enhance your confidence and, in most cases, reap new rewards.

The American author, Alvin Toffler wrote, “It is better to err on the side of daring than the side of caution.”

What daring adventures have you participated in? They don’t have to be out of the ordinary like walking across hot coals with Tony Robbins, which I did in 1989 and will never forget. They can be trying a new machine at the gym or participating in a fitness class where you feel uncoordinated to start with. Or, how about attending a networking event or a party and walking up to a stranger and introducing yourself. I have met some of the most interesting people this way.

You don’t have to be bizarre, but if you add a new touch to your clothing, change your hair style or dare to investigate a new career option, you will be amazed by how light hearted you will feel. How about trying a different shopping center, a new restaurant, or visiting a museum you haven’t been to before? Set aside a couple of hours a week for Julia Cameron’s suggested artist’s date where you try something new all on you own. I dare you!

The daring quotations were wonderful and inspiring:

• “If you do things well, do them better. Be daring, be first, be different, be just.” - Anita Roddick, English businesswoman
• “Take the obvious, add a cupful of brains, a generous pinch of imagination, a bucketful of courage and daring, stir well and bring to a boil.” - Bernard Baruch, American businessman
• “All serious daring starts from within.” - Eudora Welty, American author
• “Faith is not trying to believe something regardless of the evidence. Faith is daring to do something regardless of the consequences.” - Sherwood Eddy, American author

And, a few more:

• “In crises the most daring course is often safest.” - Henry A. Kissinger, American statesman
• “For strange effects and extraordinary combinations we must go to life itself, which is always far more daring than any effort of the imagination.” - Arthur Conan Doyle, British writer
• “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature.” - Helen Keller, American author
• “No crime is so great as daring to excel.” - Winston Churchill, English statesman

A couple for the rest of your week:

“Whatever there be of progress in life comes not through adaptation but through daring.” - Henry Miller, American Author

“Daring ideas are like chessmen moved forward; they may be beaten, but they may start a winning game.” - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, German poet

Let me know what you have dared to do. I love hearing from you!

Curious about Realization: What Surprising and Sometimes Unsettling Realizations Have You Experienced?

“More power than all the success slogans ever penned by human hand is the realization for every man that he has but one boss. That boss is the man - he - himself.” - Gabriel Heatter, American journalist

“There is joy in work. There is no happiness except in the realization that we have accomplished something.” - Henry Ford, American businessman

Yesterday I attended an excellent and eye-opening seminar where the two speakers shared how realization played a huge part in their current level of success. With help from mentors, the reading of enlightening books, and lots of hard work on themselves both have achieved “more than they ever imagined possible.”

It started with the realization that even though they both had many strengths, they also had some weaknesses in the area of people skills and relate ability. And they weren’t even aware of this. Did you know that in a recent survey, 85% of those surveyed felt they were above average in intelligence, relationship building, fitness and almost all of the other areas mentioned?

We all know that those results are impossible, but we don’t realize what areas we are weak in and need to work on. Yes as the American author, Jean Toomer said, “The realization of ignorance is the first act of knowing.” What do we actually know and realize about ourselves? What might be holding us back for accomplishing what we desire?

Some of the general quotations:

• “The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.” - Franklin D. Roosevelt, American President
• “Computers are magnificent tools for the realization of our dreams, but no machine can replace the human spark of spirit, compassion, love, and understanding.” - Louis Gerstner, American businessman
• “My ideas about time all developed from the realization that if nothing were to change we could not say that time passes. Change is primary, time, if it exists at all, is something we deduce from it.” - Julian Barbour, British scientist
• “Respect for another man's opinion is worthy. It is the realization that any opinion is valuable, for it is the sign of a rational being.” - Sargent Shriver, American politician
• “With realization of one's own potential and self-confidence in one's ability, one can build a better world.” - Dalai Lama, Indian leader

And, some with a different focus:

• “Once the realization is accepted that even between the closest human beings infinite distances continue, a wonderful living side by side can grow, if they succeed in loving the distance between them which makes it possible for each to see the other whole against the sky.” - Rainer Maria Rilke, German poet
• “Time made me change. I gradually woke up to the realization that this is who I am, an author, a public figure, and I couldn't just hide in my study, tapping away at the keyboard and pretend that I didn't have a role to play beyond stringing words together.” - David Guterson, American author
• “So then, the relationship of self to other is the complete realization that loving yourself is impossible without loving everything defined as other than yourself.” - Alan Watts, English philosopher
• “The possibility of a scientific treatment of history means a wider experience, a greater maturity of practical reason, and finally a fuller realization of certain basic ideas regarding the nature of life and time.” - Muhammed Iqbal, Indian poet
• “And that is a very, very exciting realization: to recognize that slum dwellers and rural dwellers are the same as all the rest of us, and that in fact the real strength of the developing world is the strength of the people.” - James Wolfensohn, Australian businessman

Especially for all of you – and me, too – during these coming weeks:

“Success is the progressive realization of a worthy goal or ideal.” - Earl Nightingale, American entertainer

“You have all the reason in the world to achieve your grandest dreams. Imagination plus innovation equals realization.” - Denis Waitley, American writer

“The secret to having everything you want out of life is the realization that you really don't want most of the things you think you want.” - Bo Bennett, American businessman

Have an incredible week! Realize all the great things you do and strive for!

Curious about Thankfulness/Gratitude: How Grateful Are You? Try the Gratitude Dance (Daily)

“So I'm very grateful for everything that has happened in my life.” - Alice Barrett, American actress

“I would find myself laughing and wondering where these ideas came from. You can call it imagination, I suppose. But I was grateful for wherever they came from.” - Amy Tan, American novelist

This week’s theme was originally sparked by my Internet friend, Susan Henderson, for whom I am grateful. She sent our Mastermind Group the link to the YouTube Gratitude Dance Video. Do take the time to watch it. It is not only fun – I found myself getting up and dancing – it made me take time out to make a list of many of the wonderful gifts I am grateful for.

So often, we and others complain about what we don’t have rather than celebrating what we have to be grateful about. The participants in the “Secret” along with many other gurus who are experiencing great success suggest that we develop the habit of gratitude and thankfulness for all the joys and positives in our lives.

The following quotation hit home with me: “My cancer scare changed my life. I'm grateful for every new, healthy day I have. It has helped me prioritize my life.” - Olivia Newton-John, British musician.

A year and a half ago, I experienced a freak accident and fractured my hip. Being a group fitness instructor, I hated being out of circulation for more than three months. Today, I am so grateful to be back teaching 13 fitness classes a week and always experience a special level of gratitude when performing jumping jacks.

I found the quotations this week to be fascinating. Many actors, actresses and musicians grateful to be working and many authors and writers happy to being read.

Here are some of my favorites:

• “Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” - Marcel Proust, French author
• “No money on earth can buy the love and affection that has been given to me by a grateful nation.” - Abdul Qadeer Khan, Pakistani scientist
• “Courtesies of a small and trivial character are the ones which strike deepest in the grateful and appreciating heart.” - Henry Clay, American statesman
• “I was grateful that I had dancing to fall back on. It was my survival tactic. It was my friend. It was always there.” - Suzanne Farrell, American dancer

And, some others with a different focus:

• “Talent is God given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful.” - John Wooden, American coach
• “Who cared if there was really any Being to pray to? What mattered was the sense of giving thanks and praise, the feeling of a humble and grateful heart.” - Oliver Sacks, American scientist.
• “I will say that since our capture we have met with uniform kindness, and while in the penitentiary our relations with the officers have been cordially pleasant, and for their considerate and kind disposition we feel profoundly grateful.” - Cole Younger, American criminal
• “Winning the Pulitzer is wonderful and it's an honor and I feel so humbled and so grateful, but I think that I'll think of it very much as the final sort of final moment for this book and put it behind me along with the rest of the book, as I write more books.” - Jhumpa Lahiri, American author

Besides doing the Gratitude Dance, think about what the following quotations mean to you:

“Each day offers us the gift of being a special occasion if we can simply learn that as well as giving, it is blessed to receive with grace and a grateful heart.” - Sarah Ban Breathnach, American author

“My interpretation to the secret to life is don't do anything or try not to do anything that makes you feel like you deserve to lose in life. And be grateful for what you have. And protect what you've got that's beautiful too.” - Jim Carrey, Canadian comedian

“Fortunately, my parents always encouraged me to be grateful that I was healthy, and stand up and be proud and carry myself with dignity.” - Susan Anton, American actress

Have fun this week! Make a list of what you are grateful for and let me know your top items.

Curious about Relationship(s) - What Kinds Are They, How Are Yours, and How Important Are They?

“When you make a commitment to a relationship, you invest your attention and energy in it more profoundly because you now experience ownership of that relationship.” - Barbara de Angelis, American writer

“Whenever you're in conflict with someone, there is one factor that can make the difference between damaging your relationship and deepening it. That factor is attitude.” - William James, American philosopher

When I chose “relationship(s)” for this blog’s theme, I was basically thinking about relationships with people – how to develop good and lasting ones. I was remembering that people will buy your services and products when they know, like and trust you. And, yes, I still will focus my energies on people relationships, but ...

When I started to check out the huge number of quotations about relationships, I found a whole different approach than I had anticipated.

There are relationships to objects, like:
“At this moment I do not have a personal relationship with a computer.” - Janet Reno, American public servant

And to audiences, like:
“I think of my relationship with any audience as a love affair. It lasts only a little while but I always look forward to a happy ending. For both of us.” - Dick Shawn, American actor

Or critics:
“I've never had an easy relationship with critics. I hold a lot of homicide in my heart. If this was another time, I'd be packing a piece.” - Jim Dine, American artist

Or strangers:
“Driving a cab is not really a nurturing type of relationship. You take people and they tip you, they may not tip you, you don't know their names, they don't care about you, you don't care about them.” - Pam Grier, American actress

Let’s examine some thoughts about personal relationships:

• “It is of practical value to learn to like yourself. Since you must spend so much time with yourself you might as well get some satisfaction out of the relationship.” - Norman Vincent Peale, American clergyman
• “Our relationship was cursed by the fact that we agreed on everything.” - Elia Kazan, American director
• “I spend a great deal of time with the President. We have a very close, personal, loyal relationship. I'm not, as they say, a potted plant in these meetings.” - Dan Quayle, American Vice President
• “I have relationships with people I'm working with, based on our combined interest. It doesn't make the relationship any less sincere, but it does give it a focus that may not last beyond the experience.” - Harrison Ford, American actor
• “My relationship with "Pollyanna" is a very personal one, because Pollyanna got me through my childhood.” - Eleanor Porter, American novelist

And, back to relationships with professions, the spiritual and a plethora of ideas:

• “The relationship of the toastmaster to speaker should be the same as that of the fan to the fan dancer. It should call attention to the subject without making any particular effort to cover it.” - Adlai E. Stevenson, American politician
• “The relationship between press and politician - protected by the Constitution and designed to be happily adversarial - becomes sour, raw and confrontational.” – Roger Mudd, American journalist
• “The relationship between a manufacturer and his advertising agency is almost as intimate as the relationship between a patient and his doctor. Make sure that you can life happily with your prospective client before you accept his account.” - David Ogilvy, American businessman
• “If you're doing an interview, you need conversational tension. After you talk to them, you're not going to have a relationship with them, they're not going to like you, they're not going to be your friend.” - Chuck Klosterman, American critic
• “Relationship is a pervading and changing mystery... brutal or lovely, the mystery waits for people wherever they go, whatever extreme they run to.” - Eudora Welty, American writer
• “It is only when we no longer compulsively need someone that we can have a real relationship with them.” - Anthony Storr, English author
• “Spiritual relationship is far more precious than physical. Physical relationship divorced from spiritual is body without soul.” - Mohandas Gandhi, Indian leader

Here are a few more for you to think about and chew on. I know that this topic has opened my mind to many new ideas and challenges:

• “In a few decades, the relationship between the environment, resources and conflict may seem almost as obvious as the connection we see today between human rights, democracy and peace.” - Wangari Maathai, Kenyan activist
• “The relationship between press and politician - protected by the Constitution and designed to be happily adversarial - becomes sour, raw and confrontational.” – Roger Mudd, American journalist
• “The first test of a truly great man is his humility. By humility I don't mean doubt of his powers or hesitation in speaking his opinion, but merely an understanding of the relationship of what he can say and what he can do.” - John Ruskin, English writer

Do let me know what you think and what relationships mean to you. And, have a wonderful week filled with meaningful relationships!