Monday Motivation - 26 February

“We cannot choose how many years we will live, but we can choose how much life those years will have. We cannot control the beauty of our face, but we can control the expression on it. We cannot control life's difficult moments but we can choose to make life less difficult. We cannot control the negative atmosphere of the world, but we can control the atmosphere of our minds. Too often we try to choose to control things we cannot. Too seldom we choose to control what we can - our attitude.” ~ John Maxwell

Monday Motivation - 19 February

Rather than post a motivational quotation, I'm going to recommend a motivational book.

Lesley Garner's Everything I've Ever Done That Worked is a wonderful book. It's described as a "fantastic spiritual and emotional first aid kit" and I'm finding it to be a very inspirational read. The book comprises a collection of short essays which are reflections and observations on life, with techniques to help you "light the next inch of your path when you've lost your way," feel happier and find more meaning in your life.

I'm very grateful to the client who recommended it to me - thank you!

Recommended websites - growing your business

Here are some websites you may find of use for growing your business, and for general interest.

1) There’s a very good tool for checking on the customer focus of your website, called the ‘We-We Monitor’. This helps you see if you are focused on your visitors’ needs and problems rather than on you and your experience etc. Visit http://www.futurenowinc.com/wewe.htm

My website scored 71.83%, with 51 instances of customer-focused words. How does yours measure up?

2) I’ve been using the Google Alert service for a while to get notifications of Life Coaching articles in the press, and someone recently advised that it can be used to get alerts when people link to your website, so I have signed up for that service as well. Check it out at http://www.google.com/alerts

3) For articles to help you grow your business, such as ‘marketing plans de-mystified’ visit http://www.stand-out-marketing.co.uk/. There’s also a ‘speaker on stand by‘ service – very useful when your carefully planned event is facing problems because the scheduled speaker has just cancelled.

4) Visit http://businesslink.gov.uk%20/ and click on ‘grow your business’ for a range of information and resources.

Quotations on love - part 3

“Love is a force more formidable than any other. It is invisible - it cannot be seen or measured, yet it is powerful enough to transform you in a moment, and offer you more joy than any material possession could.” ~ Barbara De Angelis, PhD

“If we discovered that we had only five minutes left to say all that we wanted to say, every telephone booth would be occupied by people calling other people to stammer that they loved them.” ~ Christopher Morley

"Love is a fruit in season at all times, and within reach of every hand." ~ Mother Teresa

“I know for sure that in the final analysis of our lives – when the to-do lists are no more, when the frenzy is finished, when our e-mail boxes are empty – the only thing that will have any lasting value is whether we’ve loved others and whether they’ve loved us. “ ~ Oprah Winfrey

“To be loved, be lovable.” ~ Ovid

“You are loved, beyond your own imagining. You may not feel it, or know it or even believe it, but the truth remains that you are loved. You are a beloved child of a loving universe. There is nothing you can do that would make that love go away, for it is your birthright.” ~ Judith Wright

Quotations on love - part 2

"Someone has written, "Love is a verb." It requires doing - not just saying and thinking. The test is in what one does, how one acts, for love is conveyed in word and deed." ~ David B. Haight

"When two people are at one in their innermost hearts, they shatter even the strength of iron or bronze, and when two people understand each other in their innermost hearts, their words are sweet and strong like the fragrance of orchids." ~ I Ching

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." ~ I Corinthians 13:4-8a (NIV)

“Love is not about finding the right person, but creating a right relationship. It's not about how much love you have in the beginning but how much love you build till the end.” ~ Author Unknown

"If you love someone, let them be who they are, not who you think they should be." ~ Unknown

“Love is a little company of two, where joy is doubled, grief divided, and the road is traveled together.” ~ Unknown

“You will find, as you look back upon your life, that the moments when you really lived are the moments when you have done things in the spirit of love.” ~ Henry Drummond


Happy Valentine's day!

Quotations on love - part 1

"Love is not what makes the world go round. Love is what makes the trip worthwhile." ~ Franklin Jones

“Love is like playing the piano. First you must learn to play by the rules, then you must forget the rules and play from your heart.” ~ Unknown

"None of us has the power to make someone else love us. But we all have the power to give away love, to love other people. And if we do so, we change the kind of person we are, and we change the kind of world we live in." ~ Rabbi Harold Kushner, in Handbook for the Heart

”Love, like a river, will cut a new path whenever it meets an obstacle.” ~ Crystal Middlemas

"The only thing that you can never have too much of is love." ~ Brian Tracy

"Loving people are happy, and happy people are loving." ~ Ken Keyes

Monday Motivation - 12 February

"Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending." ~ Maria Robinson

Monday Motivation - 5 February

"Resolve to make at least one person happy every day, and then in ten years you may have made three thousand, six hundred and fifty persons happy, or brightened a small town by your contribution to the fund of general enjoyment." ~ Sydney Smith