photo credit: alicepopkorn

Think left and think right and think low and think high.  Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try!  ~Dr. Seuss

One of my greatest talents is my creativity, today I am grateful for an active imagination.

I enjoy looking at the world through my eyes, because the perception I have of things is much different than most others.  I also enjoy that my brain works in a different way than most other people, instead of looking for the normal thing to say during the middle of a conversation, it actively looks for the most inappropriate response it can find, and by inappropriate, I don’t necessarily mean obscene, I just mean that everyone is trying to go right, and I take the conversation on a quick journey to the left.

This morning I woke up laughing at a joke I had dreamed, the great thing is this time it actually makes a little bit of sense.  It still needs work, I have to find out how to make it resonate truth, and eventually it will become something I will use.

This talent comes from opening myself up to whatever source it is I find these ideas from, wherever it is this bizarre imagination of mine gets its permission to run free.  I give myself permission to look silly, stupid, and sometimes a bit crazy, but it works, you can’t be self-conscious, and funny.  However, I do have to be careful, sometimes my brain thinks a bit too quickly, and instead of blurting out the whole joke to some people, only the punchline pops out, and I now just look like some insane man spouting off random thoughts, which in some cases can make the whole incident that much funnier.

I feel sorry for people who lack an imagination, and especially those who can’t find the humor in themselves.  I personally can’t help but take a look in the mirror and laugh, and think, “God has a warped sense of humor.”  We are funny looking creatures, with weird appendages that pop out of the strangest places, and the funniest thing of all, is that’s what we find sexy in our mates.

Laugh, let your mind wander, open yourself up to the thoughts that are out there, bouncing around in the ether.  This is where ideas come from, this is where jokes, art, books, movies live, this is where we should all reside, in our imaginations.

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photo credit: David Reece

Spend the afternoon. You can’t take it with you. ~Annie Dillard

Today’s gratitude idea comes from Linda. Yesterday afternoon I had lunch with Her, Cookie, and Teri out on the patio at Roadrunner’s. It was such a beautiful sunny afternoon, and for that we were all grateful.

Lunch was truly pleasurable, there was good news all around. Linda as always her life is blessed and interesting, Cookie has been blessed with a new job, Teri is being considered for a promotion, and there has been talk at my store of similar things. The great thing, is that we are all deserving of these wonderful things happening in our lives, and once again I know we are all grateful.

I spent the rest of my afternoon at Border’s where I came across some fantastic deals. They had a clearance aisle where they had books, and DVD’s on sale for $1.00. I picked up a few items for myself, and a few to save as gifts to give later. I then went home, and spent the last hour before I went into work reading Joel Osteen’s book, Become a Better You.

I went into work at 4:00 it was my night to close the store, and this time I got more done, and in less time, I was out by 9:40. My vibrational frequency was high last night, and it all began with starting off my morning being grateful, then spending the rest of my day looking for, and finding evidence of abundance in my life.

I was explaining to my dad on the phone last night, that as I prepare myself each day to go out into the world, I use a number of tools. I visualize, I meditate, I write my gratitude posts, and I feed my brain and spirit with books, movies and songs that inspire me. I also stick to one of my new habits, and that is dressing for success.

Music is very important to me right now, I am currently wearing out the new CD by a young group called Angels and Airwaves. I find their music very uplifting, and positive. How can you not with titles like “Everything is Magic,” where you find lyrics like this:

So hear this please
And watch as your heart speeds up endlessly
And look for the stars as the sun goes down
Each breath that you take has a thunderous sound
Everything, everything’s magic

All these tools as I said are important for me. For example, when you dress for success, even making sure all the way down to your underwear, that if you were to lose your pants in public, you would not be embarrassed for others to see them, this gives you a hidden confidence. The visualization, meditation, and the music do this for me as well. They prepare me for a  confidence, that emanates from deep within as I walk through life. This is my vibrational energy.

I find that people are very receptive to me, as I walk through places in public, I smile, but it is not that fake plastic preacher smile you will find on Sunday morning television. When I greet people, they seem to sense that I am being sincere. I can count on one hand, the number of incidents of rudeness I have had in the last couple of months. Maybe two, but I’m hard pressed to remember what happened.

I know that as I walk through life, and I repeat my mantra of, “I attract love, I attract success, I attract respect, I attract health, and I attract money, ” that I honestly do, and once again, it begins with gratitude.

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photo credit: PrASanGaM

If a fellow isn’t thankful for what he’s got, he isn’t likely to be thankful for what he’s going to get. ~Frank A. Clark

Today is another bullet list day, a day where I not only give thanks for what I am grateful for in my prayers, but I put it down on “paper.”

Each new blog post, I write about being grateful for one thing, when in fact I am grateful for so many things, and every now and then it is important that I show it.

This morning I am grateful for…

• Another day of opportunities
• A loving family
• An amazing group of friends
• My health
• My job
• A nice home
• A nice car
• Clothes on my back
• Spiritual growth
• Financial growth
• ME

This is just a small list of things that I am grateful for, things I definitely want MORE of in my life. Today’s quote is spot on, when you consider how the Law of Attraction works in your life. If you can’t find your gratitude in the things you already have, how will you be grateful for things to come, and why should anyone, or anything give you more?

It really doesn’t matter if you believe in God, Buddha, or Chuck E. Cheese, if you can’t be grateful for the abundance you already experience in your life, then deep down, you will feel as if you don’t deserve better. That feeling alone, is what will block even more abundance from entering your life. Jim said to me one day about six months ago, “I think you’re afraid of success.” No, I was not really afraid of it. I was far too busy bitching and moaning about how bad my life was, and I felt like I didn’t deserve success. So it didn’t matter how hard I tried, I was just wasting my time putting any extra effort, because I knew I would only fail.

I got rid of my defeatist attitude, and I started by being thankful for even the smallest thing, and also coming to realize that truthfully my life wasn’t that bad, there are others out there who have it much worse.

I’ll wrap it up with a quick story. When I was about eleven years old, I read this book called The Hiding Place, by Corrie ten Boom. It is a story about a Dutch family who helps hide Jewish friends during the holocaust, when they themselves are eventually caught and sent to concentration camps. At one point in the story, there is mention of a severe flea infestation in their barracks. Where most people would complain, these people were grateful for the fleas, because it allowed them to pray, and study the bible, and be left alone by the Nazi guards. Now that is finding your gratitude.

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photo credit: ZR

In the attitude of silence the soul finds the path in an clearer light, and what is elusive and deceptive resolves itself into crystal clearness. Our life is a long and arduous quest after Truth. ~Mahatma Gandhi

Silence is not to be feared, it should be sought, and welcomed with open arms.  It is in silence that I find some of my more interesting thoughts, great ideas, and funny jokes, and for that I am grateful.

The world is a busy place filled with so many people who do their best to avoid the quiet places in life, because without noise, there is nothing there to entertain the brain but themselves, and a lot of people don’t like themselves.  They are stuck there in their new quiet place with nothing but their thoughts, and until you begin to like yourself, its like being stuck on a long plane trip with the one and only guy who seemed to have one too many coffees before he boarded.

If you were like me, then the thoughts that would come flooding at night as you lie down to go to sleep would end up keeping you awake, so what did I do?  I turned on the television, and fell asleep to some late night show.  Or, when I would be alone cleaning the house, doing something I clearly did not enjoy, my thoughts would go to a dark place.  I would start to think of things that upset me, and how I would address that the next time I saw that person.

During these moments my vibrational energy would be low, and my thoughts negative, and eventually I would attract more of these things into my life, because I gave them so much thought and time.

Now in silence I find time to raise my vibrational energy.  I use these times to “meditate,” or think about topics I would love to write about, ideas I have for comedy routines etc.   I even noticed yesterday when sweeping and mopping the floors, instead of going to that angry place, the whole time, I was either humming an upbeat song, or my head was filled with positive thoughts.

Some of my favorite moments now, are to just go into my room and lie in bed in the dark, and meditate and do visualization exercises.  I even find time to do this in my car during lunch at work.

Just a quick story and I’ll wrap this up.  Sunday, I had to go to lunch a bit earlier than I’m used to.  I usually like to wait until almost the six hour mark before I go to lunch, because then I have such a short time left for work and the rest of the day goes by rather quickly.

Well, this Sunday right before I went back into work, I turned off the music I had been listening to, and ran quickly thought my mantra, I went back inside, and went right to work.  Next thing I know, I had spent almost four hours humming to myself, and it seemed like minutes.  My day was over, everything flowed so smoothly, no real mistakes, nothing to get concerned over, and I still feel that it had everything to do with taking even just a few minutes of silence to prepare myself for that afternoon.

I hate to come off as preachy, but when I tell you that my life has changed so much by just adding a few little “tasks” each day to my routine, I know it sounds crazy, but the only way I can prove it to you, is by suggesting you just try it yourself.  Wake up and write down what you’re grateful for, thank out loud whoever, or whatever it is you believe in that helped provide those things in your life, and then spend five minutes “meditating.”  Don’t just do this and look at it as work, find some excitement in it, do it every morning knowing that this will change your life, then come back in a week and tell me how things are going.

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If nothing ever changed, there’d be no butterflies.  ~Author Unknown

This morning, as I think about a conversation I had yesterday with my assistant manager, I am grateful for confirmation that the Law of Attraction is working in my life, and that the values I choose to live by, have a positive impact on my surroundings.

I spoke of receiving complements in a past post, but I received a few more when Tanya stated, “We all fight over who gets to work with you.”  While she was only half joking about the fighting part, it seems they all do really enjoy working with me.  I am learning that one of the quickest ways to abundance, is by choosing to live your life by giving of yourself, and helping others attain what they want.

Now this seems to be contradictory to the whole philosophy of, “I am not responsible for your happiness,” but it isn’t.  If you are a business owner, employer, or employee, and you only think in terms of, “How can this customer/ employee / job help me.”  Then your thoughts are only of taking, instead of giving, and believe me taking is what you will experience.

Each day I go into work I know it is my job to say yes, to whatever question that arises, whether it be from my boss, customers, or fellow employees.  We are talking of course within reason.  If someone asks me to do something immoral, or illegal, that’s a whole other issue.   It is my job to help others attain what it is they want, whether it be coffee, good work ethic, or help cleaning up a mess.  The words, “Not my job,” should never enter my vocabulary.

By living this way, I have learned to love my job, and it is evident, because another part of the conversation was when my assistant manager and I were kidding each other and she said, “You love this job.  So much so, you want a plaque on the wall.”  Once again she was only half joking by throwing the bit about the plaque on the wall, but they all know that I truly do love my job, and this attitude is having an impact on how others view me.

A lot of people choose each day to head into a place of work that they can’t stand, then they sit there and watch as each minute, which lasts an eternity, just passes by.  They then spend what little free time they have on the job, sitting in the break room, or standing around the water cooler, bitching, and moaning about their bosses, their fellow employees, or the job itself.

Stop now.  If you hate your job, and feel that there is nothing that can change that fact, then get out now, or start each day by being grateful for that job, and finding every little positive aspect you can find in it.  It may begin with something simple like, “It pays the bills.”  Be grateful for that, and pretty soon you will find something else to be grateful for and build on, and soon your thoughts will be on the positive things with your job, and the Law of Attraction will of course respond by giving you more of what you do want, and less of what you don’t.

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What flatterers say, try to make true.  ~German Proverb

Last night I received a couple of complements, and for that I am grateful.

To lay it all out on the line, I feel as though my weight-loss is currently at a stand still.  Currently I always seem to be hungry, especially after work.  I’m sure it has something to do with the extra calories I’m burning by putting it eight hours of physical activity.  The problem is, when I weight myself on the scale, I’m not seeing any weight-loss.

I think back to when I was experiencing something similar this last fall, but regardless of what the scale said, my clothes kept getting looser.  During that period I could see and feel the loss when I would put on my clothes, but right now, I was just not certain if that was occurring , until last night.

Last night I received two complements from some friends I had not seen in over a month.  The first one just blurted out, “You’re looking really good.”  The second one just looked past me as I said hi, and then realized who I was, looked right at my stomach and just kind of fell back and said, “woah!”

Both of these incidents put a little extra bounce in my step, and helped to give me a little more resolve.  This is one of those times where its somewhat okay to see your reflection in the eyes of others, especially when you’re having a bit of trouble finding something positive in your own eyes.   It is something I can build on, as I continue to develop a healthier relationship with the way I perceive myself.

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Adopt the pace of nature:  her secret is patience.  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Last night at work, reminded of me a valuable lesson, and for that I am grateful.

It was my first nigh to close down the store by myself.  I was trained on how to close the store during my second week of employment, but you really don’t quite learn exactly how to do things because your trainer, who is trying to be helpful, wants to get home as soon as possible, and kind of rushes through things.  While you’re working on one task, they are completing another and then afterwards say something like, “Oh yeah, and then you would do that.”

So, since I have slept since then, it would be dishonest of me to say I remember exactly everything I was supposed to do, or in what order.  Also, when closing down restaurants, etc., as I did with Taco Bell for so long, you develop a routine that you feel comfortable with and that allows you to get everything done in a timely manner.

Well needless to say, the good ol’ Law of Attraction was at work last night, and I was worried about getting out on time at 10:00.  The store closes at 9:00, and we get an hour to close, however our regular closer is usually out by 9:30, but has set a record by finishing at 9:15.

The night started out fine, Heidi the pre-closer worked hard and got a lot of stuff done, but of course the last five minutes the store was open began a chain of events, much like a series of dominoes, that had anything and everything that could go wrong, go wrong.

It all began with the third to the last order of the night.  I had every dish done, with the exception of the two pitchers I was using to steam the milks when the first frappucino order came in.  Of course it couldn’t be just a regular frappucino, as with every Starbucks customer they have to be special and make it weird.  So I made his two drinks, when immediately right after another man came in and asked for two very similar drinks, with the exception of one of them being a “decaf.”  I thought for a brief moment I was being set up for some kind of weird shop, right at three minutes to closing.

During this last order is when the confusion really began.  For some reason he got rang up twice for one drink, and then after starting the order I realized he ordered something that we just couldn’t provide so I explained that to him.  As I started to make his decaf frappucino, I reach into the refrigerator and realize that the day crew never made any base for it, so I inform him of this and he decides to cancel that drink.  The sink is now full of dishes.

Now comes the refund from hell.  The supervisor on duty comes over to take care of the refund, this poor man has to wait almost ten minutes for her to finally just give him the cash and send him on his way, then we spend another fifteen minutes of my closing time at the register when we finally get it all settled.  The problem is we have a different register system than the ones they use at the checkout lines for the grocery store, and the supervisors don’t know how to really work with ours.

During this time, the supervisor also kicks over a box where we store our ground up beans for compost, so now I have a huge mess of wet ground coffee on the floor but  proceed with my close.

So here’s a quick list of everything else that went wrong during the closing:

• Storage door is locked, spend time looking for a key, supervisor has no key, so no stocking of some supplies.
• No dates left on pastries, cannot determine which ones to keep or toss, keep them all.
• Carry all trash back to loading dock, asked by Supervisor to take it back to the department because loading dock is full, courtesy clerk later on accuses me of leaving the work for her.
• Cup full of paper clips gets knocked over and stuck inside the mats.
•  Latch on bean hopper becomes disengaged and spills all the beans inside the espresso machine.

These  things don’t sound like much, but they each added from two to ten minutes of extra work that you just normally don’t have, and on top of that they add a little confusion so you’re not thinking clearly, you get frustrated, and what happens?  You make more mistakes.

I did my best to just focus on what needed to be done, and remind myself to just work at a steady pace, because no matter how fast I worked, ten o’clock would get there in the same amount of time as it did if I rushed.  Amazingly, when it was time to go, and I took a look around the store to see what might be left for me to do, it was only 10:01, so as a first time closer, I wasn’t out of line.  In fact I did fine, even though as I sit here, I can think of a few things I may have missed.

As I said last night at work taught me a valuable lesson, once again to just focus on the present, deal with that, act in the now, and the future will take care of itself.  The past, even if it were just a few minutes ago, drop it, it’s done, take from it the gift of experience, and move on.  If not, it just becomes added baggage you are carrying in your current reality.

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Work is either fun or drudgery. It depends on your attitude. I like fun. — Colleen C. Barrett

I am grateful to be back to work.

This past Sunday, I awoke not feeling real well, it seemed I had “attracted” a cold.  I had three straight days off, and figured that since I didn’t have to be at work until Monday afternoon at four, that I could just rest up until then.

Monday, I wasn’t feeling much better, but not much worse.  I decided around noon, that I would take a hot bath, relax, then take a nap until three.  Well at three, I awoke to my alarm going off, but I did not want to move from my bed, it was quite apparent I had a fever, and boy was I feeling bad.  I sat there and procrastinated, knowing it was way too late to call in, when I was forced to jump out of bed, because my the toilet bowl, began to “attract” my face.  This was no cold, this was the flu.

I cleaned myself up, and headed to work knowing there was no way I could finish up the night.  I felt so horrible, never would I ever in my life pull something like this on purpose.  If I knew I was going to be this sick, I would have called in the day before, but Andreea understood, and she just wanted me to go back home and not pass it onto anyone else on the crew.

So, my three day weekend, turned into five days until I finally felt well enough to get back to work on Wednesday, and honestly it was nice to be back.  I know some people are thinking…”Cary this is just Starbucks!”

Yeah it is just Starbucks, but honestly I love my job.  I enjoy getting out each day and not only meeting new people, but saying hi to my new friends, and fellow employees.

The only drawback that it has right now, and I work very hard not to focus on it, is the physical aspect of the job.  I am in the process of increasing my endurance, strength, and health, but for now there are days where I am in a lot of pain, even while I’m working.  But each day I get a little better, and I can push a little farther.  Outside of that, I have no problems with the job at all, and I am so grateful I can say that.

Initially, I did have some concerns that my ego would get in the way.  I think it was Dennis Miller in one of his routines who made a statement, that if you’re in your thirties, and still wear a name tag to work, you have made some bad decisions in your life.  I can stand here and say that he is pretty accurate, I did make some bad decisions in my life, which applying for a job at Starbucks, is definitely not one of them.   I am proud of my job, and the work that I do.

I have mentioned this a number of times in the past few posts, that in order for the Law of Attraction to work, there has to not only be a real belief, or a real faith behind the action in order to manifest the desires in your heart, but you have to truly feel you deserve it.  If you can’t find pride in what you are doing now, then I don’t think you can adequately convince yourself that you deserve better, and until you do, then that may be why you’ll continue to get more of the same.

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Simplicity, clarity, singleness: These are the attributes that give our lives power and vividness and joy as they are also the marks of great art. They seem to be the purpose of God for his whole creation. — Richard Holloway

Something I have found that differentiates the Michael Jordans, the Tiger Woods in this life, from let’s say, the Cary Darlings, is focus.  But there is something that goes a bit deeper than focus, and it is clarity.  It is not enough to just want something, but to be able to define what it is exactly that you want, and then with a single purpose in mind, to take action to achieve that goal.

Clarity and focus are two things I have found missing in my life, they are another tool to add to the old tool box in order to increase the abundance I am already living in my life.  Thoughts become things and when you have focus, and clarity, the Law of Attraction works that much quicker, because your thoughts tend to focus exactly on the things you do want in your life, while keeping your mind off of those things that you don’t want in your life.

However, there are times when you need to quickly consider what it is you do not want in your life, in order to get some clarity on exactly what it is you want.  For example, one exercise I learned from Michael Losier’s book, The Law of Attraction - The Science of Attracting More of What You Do Want, and Less of What You Don’t, is  to get clarity through contrast.

You use this exercise in each aspect of your life, whether its relationships, your finances, your career, health etc to help narrow down exactly what it is you want.  You grab a sheet of paper, write at the top of the paper what it is you’re focusing on, for example career, along with the date.  Then you draw a line down the middle and start by defining what it is you do not want in your career and write those things on the left, and the things you do want out of a career, you put those on the right.   Anytime you write down things like goals, or desire statements, it is always best to date them, and write them out in complete sentences.  The point of all of this is to attain clarity.  How can God, the source, the Universe know what it is you want, when you yourself can’t quite express it.

But remember, to not dwell on the things you don’t want, don’t give them that much time, that much energy, just write them down, and when you find the contrast for that item, the opposite thing you do want, then scratch it off.  This is just another part of empowering your mind, when you scratch off the list of things you do not want in your life, it is as if you are telling your mind, you have already conquered that negative aspect of your life, and you will not accept anymore of it.

I’m a busy little man these days, and I am not just talking about work.  I have jumped off the deep end here, and I am totally immersing myself into my new life.  I have a lot of new tools I am wanting to share with my friends, and anonymous readers, that are helping me to narrow down my thoughts, in order to gain clarity, so I too can with a single purpose take action and meet or exceed my goals.

It all begins with gratitude.  If you can’t be thankful for what you have already attracted into your life, you’re only making it that much tougher to attract any more.  Remember to always be grateful, even for those negative little experiences you come across, because even within those, there are some important lessons to be learned.

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The life of every man is a diary in which he means to write one story, and writes another. ~James Matthew Barrie

I am in the process of being myself, and I am grateful for that.

I find that as a species, we are much like chameleons, who, as a survival tactic, end up adapting, and altering our appearance in order to assimilate, and hide among our surroundings. I have known most of my life that one of the secrets to success at anything, was just to be yourself, or be true to your self.

Now I know I am a funny guy, all my life I have made people laugh, including some of the most uptight people imaginable. I was just being myself, because I enjoy making people laugh. My biggest thrill in life is finding an opening in a conversation, a brief moment where I can jump in, and quickly take people on my little roller coaster ride, this is where I shine. I look for these moments. If you find me sitting there being quiet during a conversation its because I am sitting there, like a hungry lion at a watering hole, waiting for that opportunity to wander by, so I can pounce.

As a stand up comic in my early twenties, for some reason, this was something I could not bring to the stage. There were a lot of reasons for this, the main one being that I was not yet grown up enough, or comfortable enough in my own skin, to bring myself up on stage.

There is some advice for first time speakers, when you are nervous, imagine your audience sitting there without any underwear on. Well in stand up comedy, the reverse is true, because you are the one that is naked, you are sitting out there on a stage all alone with no one else’s words but your own. I am not saying it is easier to be a stage actor, but it does help when you get to hide behind a character, costume and all, and recite words written by someone else, and in some cases, the play you are performing has been done hundreds of times, so you know you’re giving out quality product.

So what eventually happens, is as a stand up comic, you start looking for something to hide behind. You become a character, you bring in props, maybe a guitar, these items, no matter how successful the comic bringing them into his arsenal may be, are in my opinion just devices to shield you from possible rejection. Believe me, I know, towards the end of my brief career you could find me up on stage juggling.

I did this, all the time, knowing that if I could just bring the real me up on stage, you would find me in no time with my own HBO comedy special, maybe a sitcom, some movies, and a hosting gig on Saturday Night Live. But out of fear, I brought in the devices, I became the typical stand up who did bits, told jokes, and for Pete’s sake JUGGLED!

As I have grown up, physically, emotionally, and spiritually, I am learning that it really doesn’t matter. What doesn’t matter? Anything, and everything.

Every day that I wake up means that God has given me another day of opportunities, and I can’t waste them living in fear of what people might think.

So, now that I am working on my new routines, I really don’t care whether or not everyone finds me funny. I don’t really care anymore if anyone finds me funny. As long as I make Jan laugh (out loud I might add) then I can die a happy man. All that matters in the end is I am being myself, I am being true to myself, I am responsible for my own happiness, and happy I will be, and for learning this, I am grateful.

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