How Marbles Can Change Your Life

There is a secret to happiness. Very few people know of it, and if they do, even less understand its power. I want to share it with you today because I believe it can change your life, and it can happen as soon as you want it to.

A story was passed on to me that literally changed how I looked at my life as soon as I was finished reading it. I was amazed at how simple a story can be and still have a profound impact on others.

In this short story lies the secret to living a life full of joy, happiness and fulfillment. It doesn't matter how many things you own, how much money you make, or how important people think you are. If you don't learn how to enjoy your life, no amount of material wealth will bring you the happiness you are looking for.

Follow the stories example and you'll have the motivation you need to improve your life and the outlook that will bring you meaning and satisfaction.

THE MAGIC OF THE MARBLES

He was fifty-five years old, had a bowl full of marbles, and felt terrific. It was unknown territory for Bill, who for years had been unhappy with his life and didn't see any hope for a brighter future. Today he is a changed man. It doesn't matter what happens to him, Bill responds to it calmly and smiles. Nothing can get to him, and everything makes him feel good about his life and his future.

Back to the marbles...

On average, people live to be seventy-five years old. Some longer, some shorter, but the average person will reach this age. Realizing this, on a sunny Saturday afternoon, Bill did some simple calculations to figure out that the average person has 3,900 Saturdays in his or her lifetime.

Being fifty-five, Bill had 1,000 Saturdays left to live. He went to a small toy store in town, and bought every marble they had, 1,000 in all. Later that night, he placed all of the marbles in a large glass bowl that he placed in the living room.

As each Saturday passed, he would take one marble out of the bowl and throw it away. Bill watched as the bowl's contents shrank, and he realized that he didn't have forever to create a happier life. Each day he felt negatively about his life was one less day he had to be happy.

TIME WAITS FOR NO MAN

One day, his last Saturday will come. Bill never looked at his life this way. He never faced the fact head-on that life was short and there is a limited amount of time to make the most of it.

He looked at his current priorities and did some rearranging. At the top of the list he put spending time with his family and friends, appreciating what he had, and enjoying each moment he was alive.

Without changing his external world, Bill's life was completely different. He didn't earn more money, lose weight, or create new relationships. He simply took what he had and looked at it in a whole new light.

After making the marbles a part of his life, his new attitude enabled him to fix the areas in his life that were lacking. Before he felt powerless to change anything, and only wished for things to improve without doing anything. Now he was taking positive actions to create a life that made him feel good.

We all know that we can't live forever, but thinking of it in these terms can really help to put things in perspective. It makes you realize how valuable each day is, and what a loss it would be to not enjoy each one.

Depending on your age, you have a certain number of marbles left in your jar. If you haven't created the life you have always dreamed of yet, at which point will you decide to make the change? How many marbles have to be thrown out before you enjoy your life?

THE TIME IS NOW

Today is the perfect day for change. Today is your day to take one step towards your goals and dreams. Imagine it, living life on your terms, doing what you want, when you want, and loving every minute of it. It's possible. You can have everything you want in life, but you have to take control of motivation and make it work for you.

By : Motivation123

The Definition of Success

The Definition of Success

Often people ask me to define the word “success.” My favorite definition is this:

“Success is the ability to live your life the way you want to live it, doing what you most enjoy, surrounded by people who you admire and respect.”


In a larger sense, success is the ability to achieve your dreams, desires, hopes, wishes and goals in each of the important areas of your life.

Although each of us is unique and different from all other human beings who have ever lived, we all have four goals or desires in common. On a scale of one to ten, with one being the lowest and ten being the highest, you can conduct a quick evaluation of your life by giving yourself a grade in each of these four areas.


Healthy and Fit

The first goal common to all of us is health and energy. We all want to be healthy and fit, to have high levels of energy and to live free of pain and illness. Today, with the incredible advances in medical science, the quality of our health and fitness, and our lifespan, is largely determined by design, not by chance. People with excellent health habits are far healthier, have more energy, and live longer and better than people who have poor health habits. We will look at these habits, and how we can develop them, later in this book.

Excellent Relationships

The second goal that we all have in common is to enjoy excellent relationships, intimate, personal or social, with the people we like and respect, and who like, love and respect us in turn. Fully 85% of your happiness will be determined by the quality of your relationships at each stage, and in each area, of your life. How well you get along with people, and how much they like, love and respect you, has more of an impact on the quality of your life than perhaps any other factor. Throughout this book, you will learn the key habits of communication and behavior that build and maintain great relationships with other people.

Do What You Love

The third goal that we all have in common is to do work that we enjoy, to do it well, and to be well paid for it. You want to be able to get and keep the job you want, to get paid more and promoted faster. You want to earn the very most that is possible for you at each stage of your career, whatever you do. In this book, you will learn how to develop the habits of the most successful and highest paid people in every field.


Achieve Financial Independence

The fourth goal we all have in common is to achieve financial independence. You want to reach the point in life where you have enough money so that you never have to worry about money again. You want to be completely free of financial worries. You want to be able to order dinner in a restaurant without looking at the right hand column to decide how hungry you are.

Life is Too Short to Think Small

Know Your Limits, Then Ignore Them!

Life is too short to think small. Most people could do more than they think they can, but usually do less than they think they can. You never know what you cannot do until you try.


If you devalue your dreams, rest assured the world won't raise the price. You will find that great leaders are rarely "realistic" by other people's standards.


The answer to your future lies outside the confines that you have right now. If you want to see if you can really swim, don't frustrate yourself with shallow water. Cavett Robert said, "Any man who selects a goal in life which can be fully achieved has already defined his own limitations." Rather be as Art Sepulveda said, "Be a history maker and a world shaker." Go where you have never gone before.


The Bible says, "Things which are impossible with men are possible with God." (Luke 18:27)


To believe an idea impossible is to make it so. Consider how many fantastic projects projects have miscarried because of small thinking or have been strangled in their birth by a cowardly imagination. Somebody is doing what somebody else said couldn't be done. Dare to think unthinkable thoughts.


Develop an infinite capacity to ignore what others think can't be done. Don't just grow where you are planted. Bloom where you are planted and bear fruit. Daniel Webster said, "There is always room at the top."

No one can predict to what heights you can soar. Even you will not know until you spread your wings.

By : John Mason