When Oprah Winfrey was interviewed by the legendary US television
reporter Barbara Walters she was asked "what's the reason you put
yourself on the line week after week, year after year, on the cutting
edge of human emotion?" Oprah replied "Teaching people to take
responsibly. I believe the secret to life is to take responsibility,
once people grasp that I believe everything in their life changes. Once
people understand it and live it, they are at cause for their life
rather than living in effect and in reaction."
Public issues aside most people agree Bill Clinton was a very
charismatic leader. Yet by his own admission in his autobiography he
talks about painful acts in his childhood, anger and emotion that drove
him to a better life. He hit a level of threshold where he was finally
dissatisfied enough with his life to make changes. He was literally
propelled forward to improve his life, and dream, and apply and learn
the tools and strategies to assist himself and those around him. It's
up to us to make a decision, to release all our negative emotions, to
live in the present and to move into the future with improvement. The
best thing about the past is that it's over.
Make a decision right now to release any old emotion you had with other
people and move forward empowered. Put your shoulders back. Now stop
and do something a little ridiculous. Float way up in the air in your
mind, imagine you’re near a big ravine, put 100 singers down each side
and hear them singing now. Hear the lightning coming down the side of
the cliff. Feel the static electricity in the air. Now imagine a big
puma in front of you, licking its lips. Now step inside the puma, feel
the muscles and the strength and look way down the bottom, way off into
the distance, so small it’s barely a speck, way down the bottom of the
cliff is a person or situation you were facing. Hear the singers sing
"Your Butt is Mine". Most of us don't feel good because we don’t do
what could be described as "ridiculous mental conditioning".
Stop now and imagine a room in your mind, walk down the stairs, as you
walk down with each stair releasing negativity and building up
strength. At the bottom is a door. Open it. Inside is a beautiful
garden. Imagine the sight, the sound, the feel and the smell. And in
this garden are some people you need to meet. You need to have a
conversation with them that goes something along the lines of "I
forgive you". You may not be aware yet of the cords that still connect
you to these people.
Now, stop and take two giant blades and drop them down and cut those
cords and see the people fly off into the distance to go about their
own growing. Now feel a pleasant feeling in your body. Lock this
feeling in.
Consciously feel the release. Now visualize in front of you how you
want to be, a more advanced version of you. Filled with whatever
positive emotions you desire. Stop and imagine the qualities you need.
Notice how does this new you look? Notice how his new you is feeling?
Notice how this new you sounds? If you haven’t yet noticed then feel
the strength from being around this new you. Notice how this new you
stands and breathes. Now step into this taking on all the qualities of
this new you. Make a commitment with this deepest part of yourself to
take this new you around with you wherever you go.
What would this new you do? What would this new you stand for? What
would this new you contribute? What would this new you be interested
in? How will this you respond when you get off track? How will it feel
when you live you life at this new standard? Step into this new you and
feel the feelings in your body.
Decide to take your relationships to the next level. People love to
talk about their own interests, learn to cultivate the art of being a
good listener and people will like you - even if you have to sacrifice
some of the conversational enjoyment for yourself to give to others.
Watch the difference in your own life. People build up rapport with
others by speaking at about the same speed and the same volume as the
other person.
Consciously dwell on something that makes you feel strong. Clear your
head. Adapt some positive characteristics of a role model. One of the
best ways to gain confidence is to decide right now to have it, and
embrace it.
