Natural Energy Boosters and Competition

November in Australia, particularly this year, is a time for races. We had the Melbourne Cup with the amazing win from back in the field of 'Efficient'.

Quote of the month would have to go to assistant trainer John Sadler, on how Efficient celebrated after his Melbourne Cup win.

'Last night we went down to give him a pat, he just snarled at us and said 'piss off and let me eat. He has got an attitude, he thinks he's good.'

I suppose he could be excused for having 'attitude' after coming first in the five million dollar race.

Prime Minister, John Howard, could well take heart from the Melbourne Cup, seeing as he is currently in the back of the field also. While Rudd and Howard battle it out for Australia's top job in the electorate, on the airwaves, and on the Internet, ordinary Australians go about their daily work. Will they consider carefully when they vote, will they pick the person who has the best image at the time, or will they choose the one who appears to promise the most for them personally - the WIFM concept - What's In It For Me?

What has all this to do with energy?

My wise mother used to say, 'Comparisons are odious'. (http://www.theenergybook.com/energy_tips_from_mother.htm)

But does this also mean that 'Competition is odious'? Or does competition create energy?
In this political competition, we can see that each party is having to sharpen their pencils and come up with better and stronger policies to get ahead in the race. Whether or not the policies are implemented remains to be seen, but the democratic system is at work when opposition creates better government.

I was once involved in politics, and I found it stimulating at the time, until I perceived the full truth of the dirty tricks that go on behind the scenes. But I 'won't go there' as the saying goes.

Sport and games are all about competition and many find these very energizing.
The anatomy of a game is:

• Goals


• Barriers


• Purposes (LRH)

Without any of these there is no game, and that means without obstacles there isn't a game either. Challenges, problems - whatever you want to call them - are the stuff from which growth and greatness are made. It is rewarding to overcome an obstacle and get to the next level, personally, in business, work or life.

Of course the other type of competition is against oneself. We can always try to do our best at everything - and often we are our own worst critics. The yardstick by which we measure ourselves often derives from others in our past, or the imagined expectations of others.
What is the answer? How can we use competition - the 'race' of life to be energized.
A few simple things:

As Don Miguel Ruiz says in 'The Four Agreements': Always Do Your Best - and this is going to change from moment to moment.

• Be true to yourself and compete only when you choose to. Don't allow others to coerce or force you into a competition that you don't wish to be part of.


• Recognise that it is a game, and enjoy playing it


• If you cease to have fun - leave the game. Life is to be enjoyed, not endured.

By the time I write the next post, we may know who has won the race to be Australia's next Prime Minister - and I pray it will be for the good of the country.
I wish you joy in your personal race, and pleasure in the game of life every day.

Joan Small empowers people to make positive changes in their lives. If you want to discover more Natural Energy Boosters and lead an energized life, obtain your copy of ‘The Energy Book for Life’, the Guide to Energetic Living, Visit http://www.natural-energy-boosters.com/

Joan is also the author of the book series, ‘Allow Yourself… You Deserve It’, How to Free Yourself from Stress and Control and Live with Fun and Love. http://www.joansmall.com/

Natural Energy Boosters - John McDouall Stuart and Polly

What is your story?

Do you have a burning desire, a dream, something you wish to achieve in this lifetime?
What is your purpose? Is it 'to be happy' as the Dalai Llama says, or is it a particular goal, like the explorers of the world. Do you wish to forge a path that someone else can follow. Would you even die to achieve your goal?

Having a purpose, a strong desire, is perhaps one of the greatest Natural Energy Boosters.
It may be something small, or much larger. It may be something that can only be achieved in small steps, but by remaining focussed, and persisting no matter what we reach it in the end.

Some goals are so great that they will energise despite emotional and physical hardship.

Last night I presented a talk at my Toastmasters Club on the great Australian Explorer John McDouall Stuart - a man so focussed on a dream that he persisted against great odds.
I called the talk 'John and Polly'.

Between 1858 and 1862 John, with Polly his gallant little grey mare pony, battled for four weary years over six journeys and a total of ten thousand miles to explore from the south to the north of this great land.

With little resources or government backing, he led his small groups of men and horses across the Australian inland. Stuart forged his way through stony deserts, swam flooding rivers, climbed mountain ranges, battled thorny lancewood scrub and faced fierce aborigines - up and back six times from Adelaide until at last he reached the Indian Ocean at the north of the continent on 24th July 1862.

On all his journeys through the most severe conditions he never lost a man and rarely a horse.

Polly was with him on every journey, and he cared for her as his favourite, though she suffered much. In the dreaded 'steel-shod desert' of the gibber plains horse-shoes were torn from her feet, and her hooves were cut to shreds. She floundered through bogs, swam rivers and was once stolen by one of Stuart's party and staked in the fetlock.

When Polly gave birth to a foal near what is now Alice Springs, Stuart rested the party until she could go on, and he called this waterhole Polly Springs.

Before his last journey, John had been kicked in the temple, and his right hand was nearly ripped off by a rope. He rode in agony all 3400 miles to the north and then the same distance back again. His eyesight failed, his right hand was rendered useless, and he was so sick he had to be carried on a makeshift bed slung between two horses the last 950 miles, an indication of his men's devotion.

Was it worth it?

Though he died back in England in 1866 at only fifty years of age he had achieved his dream.

Because of John McDouall Stuart, the colonies were able to build the Overland Telegraph Line from south to north and to connect the continent with the outside world - a revolution in communications, and to build a railway line from Adelaide to Alice Springs (now all the way to Darwin).

Perhaps Stuart's greatest memorial is not the statue erected to him in Adelaide in 1904, but the wide black ribbon of the 'Stuart Highway' that stretches from south to north - the longest highway in Australia bearing one name. If you ever travel this road, give a thought to those that made it possible, and especially to John and his trusty pony, Polly.

Not all of us are prepared to give away our health and our lives for a dream. It is a high price to pay.

But what we can learn from Stuart that 'all things are possible to him who believes'.

Whether your goal, or your purpose be large of small, having a dream is a Natural Energy Booster that will make your life meaningful and worth living day by day.

If you would like to receive the free ebook 'The Journals of John McDouall Stuart' go to my webpage, http://www.joansmall.com/joansmall_Australian_BushPoetry_books.htm

Live with Energy

Joan

Joan Small empowers people to make positive changes in their lives. If you want to discover more Natural Energy Boosters and lead an energized life, obtain your copy of ‘The Energy Book for Life’, the Guide to Energetic Living, Visit http://www.natural-energy-boosters.com/Joan is also the author of the book series, ‘Allow Yourself… You Deserve It’, How to Free Yourself from Stress and Control and Live with Fun and Love. http://www.joansmall.com/

Your story, a Natural Energy Booster

WHAT IS YOUR STORY?

Last week I was staying with friends, Basil and Molly near Bundaberg (Queensland, Australia) while I wrote down their story.

Not the whole story - just the bit between 1952 and 1967 when Basil was in the police force in Australia's Northern Territory.

He had met and married Molly when she was nursing in Alice Springs and they have been married for more than 50 years.

Their story is one of adventure with a pioneering spirit on remote police stations in the most trying of conditions. It is also a story of living with aborigines and hunting for criminals in the killer heat of Australian desert, or battlling flooded rivers and torrential rains.

What comes out of Basil and Moly's story is the love and devotion, the lasting friendships made and the caring for others. Above all else is the attitude of taking life as it comes and making the best of everything. All of these are natural energy boosters.

Basil and Molly, now well into their 70's and with various bodily ailments, still have that loving attitude towards each other and their friends, and an open house where all are welcome. This keeps them young in spirit, heart and mind.

What is your life story?

If you wrote it down, what would be the theme?

Would you discover the Natural Energy Boosters that have provided you with joy, happiness and energy throughout your life, or at certain times when you needed it most?

Not all of us have a story that is as dramatic as Basil and Molly's, but we all have a story.

If you are still alive - and you must be if you are reading this - then you will have utilised the natural resilience of the Mind, Body and Spirit to regenerate, and you will have called upon it not once, but many times.

Why not find a quiet place, now, and reflect on your life story. See if you can discover your life's theme. What is it that gave you the strength to carry on when things became tough?

What gave you joy and happiness? What were the Magic Moments that still give you a warm feeling when you think back on them?

How can you create more magic moments in the present?

You too, will find you are able to build a life story from now on that more closely reflects your Ideal Life. All you need to do is tap into the Natural Energy Boosters that are right for you.

I would love your comments - and your feedback on what you discovered. Please tell me what you found out about your life story.

Live with Energy

Joan

Live with EnergyJoanJoan Small empowers people to make positive changes in their lives. If you want to discover more Natural Energy Boosters and lead an energized life, obtain your copy of ‘The Energy Book for Life’, the Guide to Energetic Living, Visit http://www.natural-energy-boosters.com

Joan is also the author of the book series, ‘Allow Yourself… You Deserve It’, How to Free Yourself from Stress and Control and Live with Fun and Love. http://www.joansmall.com

Natural Energy Boosters , Prosumers and Arthur's Carbecue

What are prosumers, and how are they related to Natural Energy Boosters?

Prosuming is another word for 'doing things for others for no money'.

According to Alvin and Heidi Toffler ('Future Shock' and 'Revolutionary Wealth') who coined the phrase, prosumers are people who produce something for others to consume for no money.

Prosuming is contributing

If you are contributing to anyone or anything by any means without being paid for your service or product, then you are a prosumer.

Simple acts like babysitting, or mowing someone's lawn are prosuming - and whole organisations such as Rotary International and the Red Cross are dedicated to the prosuming principle of helping others for no money. I belong to, and 'work' for International Toastmasters - we train people in public speaking - and the Gold Coast Writers Association, where people learn to be better writers.

Natural Disasters

When natural disasters occur prosuming increases. I was part of the emergency relief effort for Cyclone Tracy which hit Darwin on Christmas Eve 1974, and when the Tsunami devastated Indonesian islands in 2004, people from all nations rallied to provide their services.

The world runs on the voluntary support of millions, but what often goes unrecognised is that the volunteering, or 'prosuming' is not always through charitable organisations or groups.

Arthur's Carbecue

For instance, a neighbour called Arthur owned an old car that he was always fixing. But he didn't fix it by himself - he invited his friends around to spend the afternoon working on the car, and then he and his wife would turn on a barbecue. We used to call these occasions "Arthur's Carbecues".

Arthur's friends were prosumers and so were Arthur and his wife. No money was exchanged and the car was repaired.

Another friend, Gillian, was putting her house on the market, so she asked her friends to help her paint, garden and clean. Her prosumer friends put the house in order, and partied afterwards.

Being a prosumer is energizing because most of us like to be of service to others. Helping is a strong motivator and we enjoy being appreciated and needed. If our special talents are recognized, then it makes us even happier.

Energy from prosuming

Have you experienced a special lift when someone consults you, or asks for your assistance in something? We may even give away something we usually charge money for, just to gain the appreciation and good feeling.

Like me. I design websites, and get paid for it. But every now and then a 'worthy' cause comes along; some-one who doesn't have the money to pay, and I feel moved to help them out by becoming a prosumer.

Prosuming makes the world go around

According to the Tofflers, prosuming make the world go around - or at least economies of countries. If all the free services provided by individuals and groups were factored into economic calculations it would blow them out by billions.

Be proud of yourself if you are a prosumer, and allow yourself to be energized with the wonderful natural energy booster of contributing in this way.

Live with Energy
Joan

Joan Small empowers people to make positive changes in their lives. If you want to discover more Natural Energy Boosters and lead an energized life, obtain your copy of ‘The Energy Book for Life’, the Guide to Energetic Living.
Visit http://www.theenergybook.com/
Joan is also the author of the book series, ‘Allow Yourself… You Deserve It’, How to Free Yourself from Stress and Control and Live with Fun and Love. http://www.joansmall.com/

Natural Energy Boosters and Teabags

Start your day with a new teabag.

I have a habit of re-using tea bags. I drink my tea weak black with no sugar, so I am able to get at least 3 cups from one bag, and I have a cute trendy pottery receptacle for spoons and used teabags.

But I am quite particular about throwing out the teabags and washing my pottery thingy each morning, to start my day with a fresh cup of tea.

This teabag idea is symbolic of how we can live with Natural Energy Boosters.

Just as I do with the teabags, you can take all the dregs of the previous day, put them in a little bag and throw them in the bin. Then you'll be ready to take in some new experiences and seep them in your cup throughout the day to bring out all the fresh new flavors and aromas.

Maybe choose some different flavors too. Tea bags now come in a range of herbal varieties – everything from peppermint to dandelion, green tea or watermelon, and even blended. In the same way our lives can be flavored with variety and blended with love and enjoyment.

At the end of the day, we can take what we don’t want – the dregs – and bin it, so we are ready for the next day’s flavors and aromas.

Try this teabag theory as one of your Natural Energy Boosters for this week and you will have Energy for Life.

Live with Energy
Joan

Joan Small empowers people to make positive changes in their lives. If you want to discover more Natural Energy Boosters and lead an energized life, obtain your copy of ‘The Energy Book for Life’, the Guide to Energetic Living. Visit http://www.natural-energy-boosters.com/

Joan is also the author of the book series, ‘Allow Yourself… You Deserve It’, How to Free Yourself from Stress and Control and Live with Fun and Love. http://www.joansmall.com/

Natural Energy Boosters - Staying Happy

"Clean Hands make a Happy Heart"

What does this saying mean, and what does it have to do with Natural Energy Boosters, staying happy every day, having energy and enjoying life?

Have you watched the comedy program 'My Name is Earl'?

It is about a man who wins money on a lottery and decides he will backtrack through his life and make amends for all his past wrongoings. This way he will stay in alignment with Karma and his luck will continue.

It's one of my favourite programs, and while I laugh ( great for energy) I get the message - 'Clean Hands make a Happy Heart'.

The answer is simple. If we live without shame, blame and regret it is far easier to be happy. And keeping our hands clean helps us to maintain a pure heart and a clear mind - all of which are aids to energy and happiness.

What happens to bring us down? Why do people become depressed, sad, lonely, sick and lacking in energy?

Again, the answer is simple and universal. It is because what goes on inside our heads largely determines our attitude to life, what happens to us, and more importantly how we react to what happens.

Shame, blame and regret will bring you down.

• If we do things we consider are not ethical or against our own morals and values we feel guilty.
• If we are unable to take responsibililty for what we have done we blame others.
• If someone else makes us feel we have done wrong we experience shame, which can lead to regret.

It's important to consider our actions in the light of our own conscience, and do what we consider to be right, not what others impose upon us. Too often we carry around false burdens of guilt when we don't deserve to.

Guilt or shame, blame and regret keep us trapped in the past and don't allow us to enjoy and appreciate what is going on in our lives right now.

Often, when we feel sad, depressed, lonely or guilty, we turn to artificial means to drown out the pain, or to induce a false sense of happiness.

But in reality our bodies naturally create the chemicals to do this.

• Seretonin is the happy chemical, naturally produced when the sun comes up. The light creates in the body a mechanism that takes up the sleep chemical, melatonin, and allows the pineal gland (the third eye) to produce the natural energy boosters, seretonin, which induce a state of cheerfulness and energy.
• Laughter produces endorphins, which are also natural energy boosters, whereas negative emotions inhibit the production of happy chemicals.

How can we clear our minds and bodies of the harmful de-energizing effects of shame, blame and regret?

• First, with gratitude. Look at the moment you are in, and find some things to be grateful for.
• Love yourself, with all your imperfections, and choose to do only those things that you are comfortable with and align with 'clean hands' for you.
• Let go of the past. If there is something you must make amends for, own up to it and do what you can to make it right, but for all the other imagined wrongs of the past, leave them where they are - in the past and move on.
• Live in the moment. Every moment has its blessings to be enjoyed, no matter what you are experiencing. The more you focus on these the more they will expand.

Stories of my own and others' experiences with natural energy boosters can be read in 'The Energy Book for Life - the Guidebook for Energetic Living'

Live with Energy
Joan

Joan Small empowers people to make positive changes in their lives. If you want to discover more Natural Energy Boosters and lead an energized life, obtain your copy of ‘The Energy Book for Life’, the Guide to Energetic Living, Visit http://www.natural-energy-boosters.com Joan is also the author of the book series, ‘Allow Yourself… You Deserve It’, How to Free Yourself from Stress and Control and Live with Fun and Love. http://www.joansmall.com/

More Variety as a Natural Energy Booster

Infinite Variety - That's what life is all about - but it doesn't have to be big things.

One of my greatest pleasures is to 'do coffee' or 'do lunch' A variation on this is to 'do drinks', which we do each month after our Gold Coast Writers Club meeting. Exciting conversations and networking result from these social exchanges.

I was at a business conference one time and we were all asked to tell the group what we did. One lady stood up and said 'I do lunch'. She won a book prize for the best description of what her occupation was about.

Doing Lunch

Doing lunch, to me, means meeting somebody interesting and sharing a thumbnail of their life.

The lady I met yesterday had spent many years in the Northern Territory as a nurse, living on a cattle station, and also working for the NT Aerial Medical Service - often known as The Flying Doctor.

She gave me her fascinating perspective on station and aboriginal life, and some of the life-threatening and life-saving situations she had been in.

I lived for more than 40 years in Australila's Northern Territory so could understand and capture some of the atmosphere of the stories, but my life was a more urban one in a small gold mining town.

Contrasts

I was energized by this exchange. I could capture some of the excitement and drama of another person's existence in the vast outback, while I sipped coffee and ate delicious citrus tarts with cream, on a deck in tropical surroundings of the Gold Coast city.

While we have our minds with which to travel, our senses to appreciate the moment and our emotions to connect with another person there is no reason to be bored or lacking in energy.
We can create our own variety - the spice of life and live with energy every day.

Live with Energy

Joan

Joan Small empowers people to make positive changes in their lives. If you want to discover more Natural Energy Boosters and lead an energized life, obtain your copy of ‘The Energy Book for Life’, the Guide to Energetic Living, Visit http://www.natural-energy-boosters.com
Joan is also the author of the book series, ‘Allow Yourself… You Deserve It’, How to Free Yourself from Stress and Control and Live with Fun and Love. http://www.joansmall.com

Natural Energy Boosters and Variety

Variety is the Spice of Life.

What is spice - it is to 'make more interesting or flavorsome'. Spice is also a great energiser, whether it be in food, or in variety. And spice is fun!

How do you spice up your life? Do you do something different every day? Do you try new things, eat new foods, go to different places? Do you look at things from a different angle?

I heard a story at the weekend about a man called Tim, who was surprised that his brother had to consult the Sydney street directory each time he picked him up at the airport, even though he had lived in the city for some years. After the third time, Tims curiosity got the better of him and he asked why.
His brother's reply was that he never took the same route to his home.
This is an interesting way to spice up your life, and add energy to it.

Do you have set routines and habits that you carry out every day? Try something different - get up earlier, or later, work in your pyjamas, be creative in the middle of the night. Use coloured pens to write with.

The opposite of variety is same-ness. If you find yourself doing the same things every day, work at changing - start with the small things. Brush your teeth with your opposite hand or wear your watch on the opposite wrist.

It supposedly takes about 30 days to break a habit. If you can break small habits you may find it easier to break large unwanted habits.

The secret to having natural energy when you give up something is to substitute something else. If you are trying to give up eating too much, substitute a fun activity for the eating - get out and about more and do something else with your hands.

Try a new approach. I saw on TV the 'dinner plate diet' where a lady weighing well over 100 kgs, lost masses of weight simply by restricting the amount of food she ate to the small circle pattern on her dinner plate. She took this plate wherever she went, and asked for serves of only that size.

What a creative and imaginative approach to reducing weight - and it worked for her.

Our greatest asset is our creative imagination. Get your creative imagination to work for you to add spice and variety to your life and your will discover new and massive amounts of energy.

Live with Energy

Joan

Joan Small empowers people to make positive changes in their lives. If you want to discover more Natural Energy Boosters and lead an energized life, obtain your copy of ‘The Energy Book for Life’, the Guide to Energetic Living, Visit http://www.natural-energy-boosters.com

Joan is also the author of the book series, ‘Allow Yourself… You Deserve It’, How to Free Yourself from Stress and Control and Live with Fun and Love. http://www.joansmall.com .

Life's Paradox
Life is a paradox. Sure it is so.
Sometimes it says ‘Stop’, and other times ‘Go’.
Proverbs contradict – they’re designed to deceive.
Which one should you follow, which one to believe?

One says if you hesitate all will be lost.
But to ‘leap ere you look’ will be at great cost.
Tony Robbins, the guru, in his six needs of man,
Says that ‘certainty’ tells us we know that we can.

But it also means boredom. The paradox reigns.
Spice is ‘variety’ - maximum gains.

If for ‘peace’ you aspire, then you’re very soon dead.
If that’s what you long for you’ll stay in your bed.
Yet put too much pressure, too much chaos and action,
Soon your body will show it’s a fatal attraction.

To appreciate rain there must be the sun.
To welcome a rest, you first have to run.
The simplest of things you don’t love till they’re gone.
A hug from a child, a kind word, a hot scone.

Ponder the paradox - try to weigh up
If you have a half empty or half filled up cup.
For as Newton observed, Nature has her own laws.
You can work along with her if you take time to pause.

You can rush with the urge to obtain your desire.
Or live for each day, getting steadily higher,
Enjoying each moment - your own treasure box,
Contradictory assortment. It’s life’s paradox.

(c) Joan Small 2002

Natural Energy Boosters and Thinking

What is it about Thinking that is energizing, or de-energizing?

That's obvious you say. If we think good thoughts we will feel good - or energized. If we think bad thoughts we will feel de-energized.

Mike Dooley of Totally Unique Thoughts (www.tut.com) says 'Thoughts Become Things' . If you have watched the movie, 'The Secret' you will know just how powerful our thoughts - and our wishes, really are.

But can thoughts energize and expand our living in other ways?

Tony Buzan, the inventor of "Mind Maps" thinks so. He tells us that by expanding what we think about, our vocabulary and our creativity, we can actually become more 'intelligent' no matter what our age.

I will repeat that last bit - "no matter what our age".

Gone are the theories that our intelligence deteriorates with age.

In truth we can become smarter as we get older. This thought is indeed an energizing one.

Tony Buzan also wrote 'The Book of Genius'. He lists 20 characteristics of 'Genius'. Some of these are Imagination, Positive Attitude, Truth/Honesty, Facing Fears/Courage, Vision, Desire, Faith, and of course - Energy.

From this you can see that genius is not just 'intellectual thinking' but how we use our thinking ability.

What about you?

What are you doing to change your way of thinking and focus on how you can use the wonderful gift we have been given - our creative imagination?

In 'The Energy Book for Life' I outline many ways that people use natural energy boosters, including creative imagination. to generate more energy, joy, happiness and fulfillment.

One of my favourite quotes is:

'Nothing happens unless first a dream' (Carl Sandburg).

This means we must first imagine, or 'dream something up' before it can become reality.

One of my Energetic Message cards says :

'Create your ideal life in your mind, and take steps towards it. The Energy you create will open up new opportunities and experiences.'

Why don't you visit my website now, and obtain a set of these energizing daily message cards, and you will find yourself uplifted each time you draw a thought for the day.

Expand your thoughts in a positive direction with natural energy boosters, and your life with follow.

Live with Energy

Joan

Joan Small empowers people to make positive changes in their lives. If you want to discover more Natural Energy Boosters and lead an energized life, obtain your copy of ‘The Energy Book for Life’, the Guide to Energetic Living, Visit http://www.natural-energy-boosters.com

Joan is also the author of the book series, ‘Allow Yourself… You Deserve It’, How to Free Yourself from Stress and Control and Live with Fun and Love. http://www.joansmall.com/

Natural Energy Boosters - Freedom or Entrapment

The Energy of Living Free

Recently I watched the tragic story of the 'Boy in the Bubble', David Vetter, who spent his entire life of 12 years imprisoned in a plastic capsule, because he suffered from SCID (Severe Combined Immunodeficiency).

From the age of seven David verbalized his depression and said he had suffered from it for several years, and this is not surprising. It seems he was an intelligent and cheerful child, but not only did he have a prison, but he also had several 'jailers' - the doctors and other professionals as well as his loving family who instilled in him fears of the outside world and being invaded by germs.

Being trapped is one of our greatest fears.

Everyone has heard of claustrophobia - a fear of being trapped in confined spaces, and maybe even agoraphobia - being trapped in one's home because of fear of everything outside of it. But what of the fear of being trapped in other ways?

Fear is a form of lack of energy - a withdrawing from the world.

Even in Australia, where we are a so-called free nation, and have freedom of speech, freedom of information and many other freedoms, we can have a trapped feeling.

But unless you are physically held against your will, it is entirely up to you whether you choose freedom or entrapment.

Are you feeling trapped in a relationship, a job or a place of living that’s not ideal for you? Are financial constraints keeping you trapped in a lifestyle that you don’t like?

All of these things are simply a matter of choice.

I know a man who worked for a large government organisation. He was becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the ethics of upper management, so one day he took the plunge and resigned. At his farewell party other workers expressed amazement at his courage to throw away one job when he had no immediate prospects for another. They said, ‘It’s all right for you. You don’t have the mortgage, the car payments…….” and so on.

The truth is, we can make changes in our lives that lead us to what energizes us. It is all a matter of choice.

What do you choose? Do you choose freedom or entrapment? What are you going to do today to make that change to lead you to the life of your dreams?

The first step is probably the hardest. Imagine it. When you hold a clear picture in your mind for long enough and take steps towards it , it is inevitable.

This New Year, resolve to take that leap and do what you have always wanted to do. I will.

FREEDOM
What's Freedom, you ask; a fictitious thought?
A will-o-the-wisp so hard to be caught.
So many the meanings. What is 'To be free?'
Is it 'Not tied by chains'? Is it 'Just to be me'?
I believe it is fun. It is family and friends.
It's healthy and fit - take the road where it wends.
It's financial freedom, it’s money to do
What you want, and to give to the many or few
Who're in need of some help to make better their life.
So be grateful for yours for there's many in strife.
Yes, freedom's today, to live as you choose,
To plan out your future, your knowledge to use.
To keep on with learning, to grow day by day.
To love yourself first in a spirit of play.
So living and giving and choosing your role,
You'll be a free spirit - accomplish your goal.
© Joan Small

Live with Energy
Joan

Joan Small empowers people to make positive changes in their lives. If you want to discover more Natural Energy Boosters and lead an energized life, obtain your copy of ‘The Energy Book for Life’, the Guide to Energetic Living, Visit http://www.natural-energy-boosters.comJoan is also the author of the book series, ‘Allow Yourself… You Deserve It’, How to Free Yourself from Stress and Control and Live with Fun and Love. http://www.joansmall.com