Alicia Clinton Live
Conversational, Empowerment Discussions with Motivational Host and featured guest speakers on current topics and empowerment tips.
Mark your calendars now to join us on April 30 at 6:30 pm EST on the Alicia Clinton Live! Talk Show with our special guest – Nigel D. Alston. Our topic is Motivation Matters.
More about: Alicia Clinton and her work.
Attitude
Unknown Author
There once was a woman who woke up one morning, looked in the mirror, and noticed she had only three hairs on her head.
Well,” she said, “I think I’ll braid my hair today.” So she did And She Had A Wonderful Day.
The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and saw that she had only two hairs on her head.
“H-M-M,” she said, “I think I’ll part my hair down the middle today.” So she did And She Had A Grand Day.
The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that she had only one hair on her head.
“Well,” she said, “today I’m going to wear my hair in a pony tail.” So she did And She Had A Fun, Fun Day.
The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that there wasn’t a single hair on her head.
“YEA!” she exclaimed, “I don’t have to fix my hair today!”
Consider this: What is your attitude today? I hope you have a wonderful, grand, fun, fun day!
Read what Marcel Proust says about the real act of discovery and then ask yourself the four questions suggested as you continue to make your vision a reality.
Click here to find our what: The Real Act of Discovery is . . .
And If I Did Not Make Mistakes
– Katie Paton, Scottish Poet
And if I did not make mistakes
And give too brief a thought to heavy questions
And too much time to little matter;
Or if I always knew which road to travel
Where every step would lead me into daylight
And if each face that turned to watch me pass
Was broken by a smile;
Or if whenever I should choose to lay my heart
Bare upon the sun-warmed grass,
It always was returned with tender touches
And carried by a song;
And if my heaviest burden were only to be
A breeze upon my back, and blossom in my hair,
And my brow was never crossed with lines of pain;
If all this endless summer were my lot
And winter’s fury never beat me back,
Then I never would have seen the stormy nights
Through which I’ve struggled, fought and won;
I never would have known the joy of needed comfort given,
Or the essence of a friend.
Consider this: What have your mistakes taught you?
Something To Think About . . .
Give us, O give us, the man who sings at his work! Be his occupation what it may, he is equal to any of those who follow the same pursuit in silent sullenness. He will do more in the same time — he will do it better, he will persevere longer. One is scarcely sensible of fatigue whilst he marches to music.
— Thomas Carlyle
The Carpenter’s House
Author Unknown
An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer-contractor of his plans to leave the house building business and live a more leisurely life with his wife enjoying his extended family.
He would miss the paycheck, but he needed to retire. They could get by. The contractor was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter said yes, but in time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end his career.
When the carpenter finished his work and the builder came to inspect the house, the contractor handed the front-door key to the carpenter. “This is your house,” he said, “my gift to you.”
What a shock! What a shame! If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently. Now he had to live in the home he had built none too well.
So it is with us. We build our lives in a distracted way, reacting rather than acting, willing to put up less than the best. At important points we do not give the job our best effort. Then with a shock we look at the situation we have created and find that we are now living in the house we have built. If we had realized that we would have done it differently.
Think of yourself as the carpenter. Think about your house. Each day you hammer a nail, place a board, or erect a wall. Build wisely. It is the only life you will ever build. Even if you live it for only one day more, that day deserves to be lived graciously and with dignity. The plaque on the wall says, “Life is a do-it-yourself project.” Your life tomorrow will be the result of your attitudes and the choices you make today.
Consider this: What are you building today that you will be living in tomorrow?
A motivational moment in words and pictures.
Click here:
WHEN YOU’RE IN THE CEMENT MIXER
Did you ever have a day like this? A man, cleaning one of those big cement trucks, got caught in the mixer. He climbed into the back of the truck with a hose to flush out remaining cement when his hose caught on a lever and pulled it to the “on” position. Suddenly, he found himself going round and round in the mixer with no way to escape. Slipping, sliding and banging around inside, all he could do was shout for help.
Fortunately, another worker came over and shut it off. In moments a bruised man, covered with wet concrete, emerged from the mixer. It reminds me of some days I’ve had. You know what I mean.
If you ever feel as if you are being knocked about by life, think about the amazing bird called the Water Ouzel. I can’t imagine this water bird knows what it is to have a bad day. The little creature is often found living next to violent waterfalls and fast-rushing rivers. And however threatening the weather, however cold the water, in snow and rain and even blazing summer sun, the tough and cheerful Water Ouzel can be heard chirping and singing. What’s more, while the voices of most song-birds, however melodious in warm weather, fall silent over long winter months, the hearty Water Ouzel sings on through all seasons and every kind of storm. I have to wonder: does this little creature know something I don’t?
It’s as if the bird knows that every violent storm will eventually give way to sunshine; every dark night will finally fade into dawn. And isn’t it true? Even our bleakest and stormiest times do not last forever. Like the poor man buffeted about in the cement mixer, there is almost always an end to the turmoil.
As the incredible humanitarian novelist Harriet Beecher Stowe said, “When you get in a tight place and everything goes against you, until it seems as if you could not hold on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time when the tide will turn.” I have had that experience more times than I can remember.
Maybe this is one of those days you feel as if you are in the cement mixer. If so, do you need to hold on a little longer?
By Steve Goodier
Life Support System
Consider this: When you are in the cement mixer, remember the Water Ouzel.
A couple of days ago a storm came through here that was crazy. I’ve never seen that much hail and rain. It reminded me of when I was living in my old house. Every time there was a bad storm I had to go through some major things to get the lights back on in the house. One time there was a storm so bad that lightning hit the house and all the power went out. I looked across the street and my neighbor had power, so I knew the problem was just in my house.
Stay with me, I’m going somewhere here…
I knew I had to get to the circuit breaker to fix what was going on. Now, in my old house, the breaker box was in the attic, and in order to get to it I had to climb a ladder, go up a flight of stairs and then climb over an air conditioning unit, all the while trying to not step through the ceiling joist or I would go straight through the sheet rock. And imagine trying to do all of this in the dark. But I had to do it if I wanted lights on in my house.
I got to the breaker box and started turning the breakers back on. For those of you who are not up on your DIY (do it yourself, LOL), the circuit breakers protect the house from further damage by turning themselves off if they get too much power or pull too much power to them.
As I was thinking about this yesterday I started thinking about us as people, as souls… me, you and any other human on this planet. What is common about us all is that we all, at one time or another, will go through or have been through a storm, and sometimes the storms are so bad that they turn off circuit breakers in our lives. We can look at others who have gone through the same storm and they are fine, like my neighbor across the street. They had power, but I was in the dark. Same storm, but it affected me differently. Many people can have the same experience and get over it but it affects each of us differently. Never let someone tell you to just get over it because they did. It’s not that simple.
When circuit breakers shut down in our lives they usually turn off to protect us from trauma, but just because they turn off doesn’t mean that they are supposed to stay off. A lot of times we leave them off because we don’t want to do all that is necessary to reach the breaker box to turn them back on. So what happens? We begin to live a life that is not as bright and fulfilling as it was originally designed to be. You just stay in the dark because it’s easier to not go through what you need to go through for healing. Trust me, I’ve been there, lived there for a while until I realized that I wanted all the lights on in my soul. I had to get these breakers back on.
Why am I saying this to you? Well I know that God designed all of us to live the fullest life that we can, to live in the light, love and joy. It is my hope and prayer today that you will start to do the work to turn on some of the breakers that may have been turned off in your life by difficult moments. What do I mean by that? If you have a dream and you stopped dreaming because it got too hard, that’s a breaker that went off. Turn it back on. If you decided that you wouldn’t love anyone else because you’ve been hurt, that’s a breaker that’s been turned off. Turn it back on. If you have decided to give up on life because nothing seems to go right, that’s a breaker that went off. Turn it back on. If you have given up on your kids because they won’t do the right thing, that’s a breaker that went off. Turn it back on.
You see what I mean? Go through your life and look at all the people who have hurt you. Look at all the situations that have left you in the dark. Turn those breakers back on. Live in a full house. One of my favorite scriptures says, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father, which is in heaven.” Light up your soul!
Consider this: Are your breakers on?
We all have dreams. But in order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline, and effort.
Jesse Owens
Successful and unsuccessful people do not vary greatly in their abilities. They vary in their desires to reach their potential.
John Maxwell
Motivational Moments with Nigel Alston 