Daily Motivator - September
 

September 1

One of those days

Is today really one of those days when nothing goes your way, when not much gets done? Or is that just what you’re telling yourself?

In fact, it’s not the day that makes things happen, that gets good work done, or prevents action. It’s you doing all that.

What the day provides is opportunity, space in which to act. What it doesn’t provide is a foregone conclusion one way or the other.

Yes, today, and every day, is one of those days. It’s a day that’s open to whatever you choose to make of it.

Any notion that the day itself is imposing frustration or bad luck is nothing but a mistaken creature of your imagination. The bad luck and frustration will end when you decide to move beyond them.

No matter how the day has unfolded so far, what you’re able to do next is up to you. Envision the best, and make it real.

— Ralph Marston

Happy New Month September Prayer.

O Lord Jesus, Thank You for this brand new month to know You more and serve You more! We are excited for what lies ahead, this new beginning of a new month. Please bless with good health, strength, and wisdom as we face the challenge of this blessed month.

Amen!

I am looking forward to cooler weather. :1:

September 2

Positive impact on time

Are you merely filling time? Or are you working to exchange your time as it passes for results that last?

Look ahead at the time that’s approaching. Consider all you can do with it to create value that endures.

You have the opportunity to do more than just get through the next day. You can use it to bring new richness to your life and your world.

As each moment arrives, meet it with the determination to make it count for something worthwhile. Choose to fill the hours of the day with unique experience, useful achievement, kindness, camaraderie, and joyful gratitude.

You have the chance to make a positive impact on time as it passes. By doing so, you can set all sorts of new goodness in motion.

The clock is running, the minutes arriving. Here is your time to give new meaning to life.

— Ralph Marston

September 3

Potential value

You experience darkness so you’re able to appreciate the value of light. You feel fear and it prompts you to call forth courage.

Hardship is a burden but not your enemy. Your enemy is indifference, and the challenges, the pains, the struggles render indifference impossible.

Beauty and possibility call to you, but all too often you fail to hear. Yet life’s difficulties cannot be ignored, and they are what can force you to care.

They sharpen your skills, increase your wisdom, focus your efforts. And thus engaged, you do notice positive possibilities, you do advance beauty, meaning, and fulfillment.

It is by experiencing the difficulty of your efforts that you understand their power. In the pain is not just the gain, but also the awareness that gain is possible.

In every twist and turn of fate, you can find potential value. Always be eager to do the work that brings that potential to life.

— Ralph Marston

September 4

Open to wonder

The world is full of wonder, your life proceeds through constant wonder. The wonder exists everywhere, all the time.

When you let go of your fears, of your preconceptions, you see the wonder. Allow it to inhabit your core, and live the wonder.

Right now, you can open yourself to wonder. It takes nothing more than to just let it be.

You strive to obtain this or that, to journey here or there. Yet where you came from and where you go, in what you have and in what you lack, wonder abounds.

Whether you’re feeling joy or discouragement, frustration or enthusiasm, wonder abides quickly within reach. In all that happens, in all that is, be open enough to look deeply enough, and you’ll see wonder looking back at you.

True wonder pervades all you are and all you can be. Give wonder a place to reside in your awareness, and let its magic unfold.

— Ralph Marston

September 5

Upward spiral

Take the world as it is and add the value of your effort and love to it. Embrace the moment when it comes and give meaning to it.

Accept what exists and serve as the bridge to what can be. Imagine all that’s possible and move toward the best of what you imagine.

Each experience brings new wisdom and increased strength. Every occurrence prompts you to focus more clearly on your purpose.

Work to build achievement on top of achievement. Utilize existing value to create new value.

Set your sights on higher levels of meaning and fulfillment. Envision specific goodness and bring it into being.

Express your gratitude for what is by giving your time and abilities to improving upon it. Join in the upward spiral that life at its best can be.

— Ralph Marston

September 6

Vigorous supporter

What can stop you most effectively is you. What can stop you most routinely is you.

Fortunately you don’t have to let that happen. You have control over your thoughts and actions, and you can exercise that control to benefit yourself and your world.

Various circumstances arise, with their obstacles, interruptions, frustrations, pains and discouragements. As difficult as life can be, there’s never any good reason for you to add to that difficulty.

Though many forces can push you back, you always have the ability to push forward. Set your sights on a meaningful enough purpose, and you activate that ability and the willingness to use it.

Some days you can make real, discernible progress, some days you just stay even, and other days you might slip backwards. Yet on every one of those days, you can seize the opportunity to give your absolute best.

Choose to be the most vigorous supporter of your own life and your own highest purpose. No matter what other factors may come into play, that’s always your most positive and powerful choice.

— Ralph Marston

September 7

People will notice

It would be great if the values that you treasure were widely supported and encouraged by others. Yet even if very few other people share your values, you can still benefit from them.

It’s not really advisable or even possible to force your values on others. What is possible, though, is to continue finding new and creative ways to reinforce those values in your own life.

People generally adopt values when they see those values demonstrated to be successful. As such, the best way to promote your own values is to live them in ways that make your life noticeably better.

A fundamental part of being a positive influence in the world is to serve as a positive influence in your own life. Living with goodness and integrity is an excellent way to promote goodness and integrity.

People are rarely receptive to preaching, scolding, and demonization. Yet they are always eager to learn from those they respect and admire.

Live according to your values, with truth, openness and authenticity. Plenty of people will notice.

— Ralph Marston

September 8

Now is the meaningful time

Don’t delay the meaning in your life. Find it, create it, experience it, live it in every encounter, in every situation.

You can set ambitious goals, make great plans, and follow through with them. But you don’t have to put off life’s richness until some later date in order to do so.

Meaning arises not just from the results and rewards you seek and obtain. There’s much opportunity to experience meaning in the entire process of living.

You’re not doing this activity right now so you can get to the meaningful part of life afterwards. Now is when the meaningful part of life happens.

Fill your awareness with gratitude for the chance to live this time with meaning. Seek to make every little detail resonate with positive purpose.

The meaningful time is now. Embrace the opportunity to deepen your sense of meaning with everything you do.

— Ralph Marston

September 9

Intentional attention

What you’re paying attention to directly influences what you’re investing your life in. Could you be making more beneficial investments?

Attention uses time, attention provides perspective, and attention drives effort. These factors significantly impact the quality of your life and your world.

If you allow, your attention can be hijacked by trivial or even nefarious matters. Yet you can choose not to allow that.

Certainly it’s important to know what’s going on in the world around you. But it’s also important to point your precious, powerful attention toward furthering goodness and achievement.

Every minute of every day your attention is focused in one direction or another. Challenge yourself to manage your attention in a smart and purposeful manner.

Attention serves you best when it is intentional. Invest your attention where it does the most good, and your life will benefit greatly.

— Ralph Marston

September 10

Value along the way

Speed matters, but direction matters more. In most cases, getting there faster is not as important as getting there well.

The value embedded in your chosen destination is not in merely arriving. You can also gain great value in the journey.

Rushing through that journey not only produces needless anxiety, it forces you to bypass opportunities. Choose instead to let your life unfold at a pace that leaves plenty of room for goodness and fulfillment along the way.

If you feel the need to rush through anything, do you really even want to do it? If you cannot savor the process, you’re unlikely to be satisfied with the result.

Go steadily forward, and don’t dawdle. But don’t hurry so much that you far outrun the value of the experience.

Make sure you’re going in a positive direction, and give yourself the time to do it well. Value every moment along the way, and put all that time on your side.

— Ralph Marston

September 11

Wondrous reality

Nothing can fully substitute for firsthand experience. Nothing can equal the value of face to face interaction.

It can be less time consuming and more convenient to engage in life’s activities from a distance. But don’t fool yourself into thinking you’re getting the full experience by doing so.

An ultra high resolution video of the ocean projected on a massive screen can be stunning. Yet you will not feel the wet sand under your feet or the salty breeze against your face.

Virtual and vicarious encounters have their place. Even so, they are no match for the richness and depth of reality.

You deserve the real things, in your experiences, in your relationships, with your senses. The profound truths of your existence, embodied within all of existence, are composed of more than mere information.

Know yourself and your world not just as concepts, but as solid and interconnected manifestations of wondrous reality. Get real, be real, live real, and experience the fullness of your miraculous being.

— Ralph Marston

September 12

Inspiration and humility

Work yourself into a heated state of inspiration. Then splash yourself with the chilled water of humility.

Yes, you can dream big and you can make progress in the direction of those dreams. Yet doing so requires a healthy and persistent dose of reality.

Humble yourself in the presence of your own aspirations. Dare to dream and humbly acknowledge that your dream demands a massive amount of hard work and time.

That’s a powerful combination. Your dreams will keep you motivated while your humility keeps you honest and disciplined.

You’re fully capable of great achievement, but it’s not because you’re the greatest achiever who has ever lived. It’s because you have the opportunity of doing the often tedious work, day after day, year upon year, to reach your goal.

Envision the highest and best, then temper that vision with humility. For that’s precisely how you make it come to life.

— Ralph Marston

September 13

Real presence

Let go of what you want people to think of you, and delight in the refreshing experience of simply being who you are. Allow expectations, agendas, worries and narratives to fall away, and just be you.

Exist fully in the moment, in genuine connection with those around you. Laugh at yourself, with kindness, and with appreciation for your chance to be here.

You’ll gain nothing by striving earnestly to prove something. Instead, enjoy everything by celebrating the humanity of yourself and those who share the moment with you.

Smile because you feel like it, not because you feel you should. Notice how quickly and deeply it heals your spirit.

Life is too precious to waste any of it on worthless pretenses. Each person you encounter is too valuable to be hastily judged or dismissed, and that includes you.

Give to life the soothing joy of being honest, of being authentically alive in your own existence. Experience again and again how sublime and how right such a real presence can be.

— Ralph Marston

September 14

The hope you feel

Hope for the best. Then put some real, effective action behind that hope.

Let hope serve as a starting point rather than a last resort. Draw energy from hope, and focus that energy on fulfilling your hope.

Feel hope as it fills your awareness. And with your persistent efforts, give that hope a way to move forward.

Whatever your circumstance, there are always specific steps you can take to bring about positive change. Call upon hope to illuminate your path as you take one step after another.

Keep your hopes high while taking care not to let those hopes become a substitute for action. Remind yourself that the hope you feel is confirmation of the good you can achieve.

Be inspired by hope to act as the living realization of that hope. With enduring hope in your heart and willingness in your spirit, there’s no limit to how far you can go.

— Ralph Marston

September 15

Changing your mind

You’re allowed to change your mind. It can actually be a refreshing thing to do, not to mention helpful, productive, and insightful.

It won’t kill you to admit to yourself or others that you were mistaken. Perhaps it could even make the situation a whole lot better.

Sure, it’s a blow to your pride when you acknowledge being wrong, particularly if you’ve been adamant about your position. But is your pride really more important than the truth?

Sincere, honest people admire open-mindedness, and for good reason. Being truly open minded involves an eagerness to change your mind when that’s what the facts call for.

It’s an act of freedom, an act of integrity. It serves to better align you with truth and reality.

When circumstances make it necessary and appropriate, change your mind. Improve your perspective and improve your world.

— Ralph Marston

I always love keeping hope alive.

September 16

A little difference

Make a little bit of a difference. Do it again and again.

Know where you desire to go. Proceed in that direction, one small step at a time.

A sure way to bring on frustration and disappointment is to assume you’re going to change your whole world overnight. A sure way to make progress is to be realistic about your ambitions.

You cannot jump instantly to the top of the mountain. Yet you absolutely can follow the winding pathway, climbing a little each day.

Do that, and eventually you’ll be marveling at the spectacular view. Perhaps even more significantly, you’ll feel the power of persistence deep within your bones and muscles.

There’s a little bit you can do right now, and a little more tomorrow. Line up those little efforts in a consistent direction, and go precisely where you wish to go.

— Ralph Marston

September 17

Winning and losing

Your wins and losses are important, yet the integrity with which you act matters even more. Keep that in mind when seeking the victories and recovering from defeat.

It is great to triumph, to achieve, and to excel. And sure, it’s painful to lose.

Yet if you abandon your treasured values in order to win, the prize is empty. When you compromise your integrity for the sake of accomplishing something, you gain nothing of value.

The enduring benefits of achievement do not reside in the achievement itself. The real value of success is in the way you live your life while you make it happen.

Focus on winning, to be sure. Yet be careful not to destroy your integrity just so you can claim the mere tokens of victory.

Each achievement you pursue is an opportunity to bring out the best within you. Act always with integrity, and whether you win or lose in the moment, you’ll set yourself up for long-term success.

— Ralph Marston

September 18

Good things are possible

Good things are possible for you. Even with your situation as it is, even with what you’ve been through, good things are possible.

There are aspects of life you dearly love. Let yourself love them even more, and act to expand them.

There is some particular possibility that can have you jumping enthusiastically out of bed every morning. Feel it within you, figure out exactly what it is, and begin to give your time and effort to it.

Expect value, goodness, creativity and fulfillment to come from your actions. Then take those actions, with commitment, love, and positive presence.

When life is going well, you possess the very real ability to make it better. If life is not going well, that ability is even more clearly present and compelling.

On this day, in this place, in this circumstance, and within you, good things are possible. Now is when you can do what you’ve always known you can do, and make new goodness come to life.

— Ralph Marston

September 19

Where achievement happens

How do you accomplish what must be done? Start by getting yourself precisely in the place where you can do it.

To get in shape, go to the gym. To write your novel, sit yourself down at the keyboard.

You can’t paint a masterpiece while floating in the pool, and you won’t get your garage cleaned out while watching television. Demonstrate to yourself how committed you are by going where you can get it done.

Go there literally, physically. Then once you’re in place, go there energetically, with your focused actions.

It might be fun to wish, to imagine, to plan and prepare. Yet when you’re ready to achieve, you must be present, physically, mentally, spiritually, where achievement can happen.

When you’re present and taking action, then you’re serious, then you’re increasingly effective. Go there, put forth effort, and start creating the valuable results you desire.

— Ralph Marston

September 20

Insist on reality

Give up your illusions. Go forward with your values, your strength, and with objective truth.

It’s easy to pretend to yourself, and to go along with the pretenses of others. But that doesn’t take you anywhere worth going.

Step away from what’s merely easy, from what just looks good on the surface. Go with what’s truly good at the deepest level, what’s useful, enduring, and real.

Refuse to buy in to assertions that cannot stand rigorous scrutiny. Insist on reality, because when all is said and done, reality is what remains.

Put your assumptions to the test, and discard those that fail. Seek to learn from every interaction, from every experience, what works and what doesn’t, what is true and what isn’t.

Looks can be deceiving, as can narratives, expertise, feelings and impressions. Take it all into consideration, then do the difficult work to determine and to go with what is true, with what is real.

— Ralph Marston

September 21

You have what’s necessary

If you can invent an excuse to avoid action, you can also come up with a compelling reason to take that action. When there’s a reason to quit, there’s also a good reason to keep going.

Do you have the skill and experience to make yourself miserable? You can transform that same skill to get you motivated, inspired, effective and fulfilled.

Has too much time gone by with not enough meaning or accomplishment? By making more intentional use of your time you have the opportunity to achieve great things.

Is your past littered with mistakes and poor decisions? By learning from those mistakes, by making more positive choices, you can vastly improve the results you get.

Every day, you utilize powerful skills and tap into abundant resources to bring to your life those things you think you most deserve. So what exactly do you think you deserve?

In fact, you deserve the best. Because you already have what’s necessary to make it happen.

— Ralph Marston

September 22

Your dreams are real

Dreams exist for a reason. They’re meant to get your attention, to captivate your imagination.

So pay attention. Imagine with wild abandon.

Of course your dreams are not practical. Yet they are what can drive you to be extremely practical and highly productive in pursuit of their promises.

You’ve pushed your most treasured dreams aside for too long. But they won’t hold that against you.

Indeed, your dreams will welcome your renewed attention by filling you with a sense of positive purpose. They’ll intensify your appreciation for all you’ve been through and illuminate new possibilities of what can be.

The dreams you have for your life, for your world, are as real as anything there is. Now is a great time to bring them fully to life.

— Ralph Marston

September 23

Living in harmony

Harmony does not mean everyone is in agreement. Harmony exists when no one is attempting to force his or her opinions on others.

Harmony does not require everyone to be the same. Harmony thrives where people respect and tolerate the differences that give so much richness to life.

Harmony cannot be achieved by brute force. Harmony prevails when every individual understands, on his or her own terms, that it is the most effective way to live.

Harmony does not come about through intimidation or scolding or threats of punishment. Harmony is reached through understanding and cooperation.

Harmony cannot exist where people are interested only in what they can take. Harmony is built through a willingness to give.

Harmony comes not by being weak or by surrendering one’s most treasured principles, or by the cowardly attempt to control others. Harmony is the domain of those who are confident enough in their own lives to allow others to peacefully flourish.

— Ralph Marston

September 24

Right time

Today has come at the right time for you. Be confident in living it well.

There’s much you can do that you could not do before. And now are opportunities you will never have again.

Hear what your own life is begging you to undertake, to say, to experience, to let go. Transform intuition into clear intention into effective action into enduring value.

You’ve been given the right time, so now make the good effort. With this moment that’s like no other, discover and fulfill the best that you can do.

It’s not too early, not too late. In this golden space you have life, and all the wonder, all the beauty, all the power and positive consequence your work can summon.

Now, look far beyond all those shallow shiny trinkets that quickly tarnish. Bring your best possibilities sharply into focus, and act with love to make them real.

— Ralph Marston

September 25

Do it one better

Accept what is, accept what comes. Then do it one better.

You’re not going to fix all that’s wrong in the world. Yet you can constantly improve yourself and many of the things around you.

If everything was already perfect you’d have nothing useful to do. Embrace the imperfection along with the good work it calls you to take on.

Proceed under whatever conditions exist. Discover that each day offers plenty of opportunities to thrive, to experience fulfillment.

Present yourself as a willing participant in each moment as it unfolds. Notice your eagerness to do the good you can do.

Whether you encounter ups or downs, joys or disappointments, always be willing and able to respond in a positive manner. Take what is, and do it one better.

— Ralph Marston

September 26

Take the win

When you get up in the morning and your world is still intact, take the win. When you complete what you’ve set out to do, take the win.

Take the win, thankful for your opportunity to have a positive influence. Take the win, and go forward with it.

Certainly you’re smart to take your concerns and challenges into consideration. Yet it’s also important to balance those thoughts with appreciation for the good that exists around you.

Rather than worrying about losing the ground you’ve just gained, take the win. Take the win and draw from it a calm inspiration to keep going.

You haven’t done everything perfectly, yet you have made progress. Give yourself some credit for how far you’ve come, and you’ll set yourself up to continue moving forward.

Take the win, not with arrogance but with gratitude, kindness, and the best of expectations. Take the win, and be generous in sharing your good fortune with all of life.

— Ralph Marston

September 27

Choose commitment well

Commitment changes you, challenges you, empowers you in the direction of that commitment. Following through on a genuine commitment enables you to experience your own strength.

Commitment lines up your thoughts, actions, and energy behind a specific purpose. Commitment makes you far more effective than you would be without it.

You’re always committed to something. It’s important to understand what that is, and how well it serves your interests.

Look at where your focus and your efforts are directed and you’ll see where your commitment is pointed. Ask yourself, are you committed to what matters most for your life and your world?

Fortunately, it’s entirely possible to direct your commitment away from trivial, superficial concerns to more meaningful pursuits. A life of fulfillment flows from meaningful, intentional commitments.

Your commitments have a major influence on the way your life unfolds. Choose well, and point the power of those commitments in the most positive and enriching direction.

— Ralph Marston

September 28

What it means to think big

Thinking big is not about devising outlandish goals for yourself. Thinking big comes from understanding you have an important role to play in the world.

When you focus on the big picture you’re better able to transcend the annoyances and frustrations that inevitably pile into your life. Think big in this way, and you rise above many of the obstacles that hold so many people back.

Thinking big is having genuine respect and gratitude for the positive possibilities. Thinking big means being committed to doing something useful with the best of those possibilities.

Thinking big is knowing that you have something unique and valuable to offer life. Thinking big means having the confidence to make it happen, no matter what problems stand in your way.

Think big, and let go of what has already happened. Free yourself to direct your focus and efforts toward the good that can now be.

Why get dragged down by all the small stuff that doesn’t really matter? Lift your eyes high, look toward the future, think big and make a beneficial difference everywhere you go.

— Ralph Marston

September 29

Now is ready

No one you know currently has any time other than now. Every person, everything that exists, is now.

So what are you going to do with it all, right now? How will you make the most of the abundance and the possibilities that whirl around you, right now?

You’ve been in similar situations before, all your life as a matter of fact. You’ve gained new richness from every moment you’ve been through and you’re in the process of doing so again, right now.

You can’t be sure what changes will happen later, yet you’re able to see how the world currently is. Now you can make good use of that clarity.

Skills are now, opportunities are now, and here you are, able to transform intention into reality. The possibilities are too consequential to ignore.

Now is ready for what can be done with it. The next move is up to you.

— Ralph Marston

September 30

Choose enrichment

Life is good. Make it better.

Some activities are truly enriching, while others are merely comfortable, habitual, or downright destructive. Take note of which is which, and choose enrichment as much as you can.

The opportunities for enrichment are everywhere, in challenges as well as pleasures, in difficulties as well as joys. And every time life is enriched, more enriching possibilities emerge.

Plus, when you act to enrich the lives of others your own life becomes richer as well. The more enrichment you spread around, the more everyone has, including you.

Is your current direction providing meaningful enrichment in your world? If so, keep on going strong, and if not, look for how you can change course.

Whatever your past, whatever your situation, today is a day for enrichment. Go ahead and make it happen.

— Ralph Marston