Category Archives: Positive Thinking

Are You On Track, On Fire, On Purpose?

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The first month of 2011 is gone.  I’m sure you approached the new year with hope and expectancy of having a better 2011.  How are you doing?  Are You Alright? I mean while you are working feverishly to achieve your goals and taking care of business, were  you also taking care of yourself too?  To be alright, you must make it a point to take care of not only your physical needs, but your emotional and spiritual needs too.

My Deep Funk

Most people never picture me as being down.  With my positive nature and high energy most think that I am always up, so in the interest of authenticity, I am sharing a period that I can only describe as a “deep funk.”  I don’t know if it was the seven funerals in four months, including two uncles in two weeks and a nephew before Thanksgiving, economic challenges, the cruelty and betrayal of a long time friend, or the host of other emotional strains, but they all collectively took their toll on me.  When you are forced to look at the finality of this life, to watch loved ones go, to face constant struggles without a break, sometimes it can cause even the strong to buckle under the pressure.  I had to deal with all this while dealing with a constantly and disturbingly changing business and financial landscape.  I was so busy taking care of everyone else that I wasn’t taking care of my own emotional needs.  But, as I’ve said before, “The tree most pruned bears the best fruit.” Sure, I had worthy goals but an emotional or physical setback can make you almost impotent to do anything and throw you off-track.  How I Got Back on Track?

I’m Barbara Talley, the poet who speaks and inspires.  To find out more about me check out: What Does Barbara Do? or visit  my website.

Knowlege (pt 2) Three Questions

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(Part 1 of Knowledge)

Three Fundamental Self Reflection Questions

You should be asking yourself some important question every single day, how else will you get to know yourself.  All day long we are receiving input from the world about how we should be, who we should be, and why we are not okay as we are.  I believe the most profound answers come from within.  The answers are there, IF, you ask the right questions.

Clarify Your Values

What you know or don’t know can affect what you get or don’t get out of life.  Every year and sometimes several times throughout the year, I do a Values Clarification exercise.  It is a time-consuming exercise but is critical to effective life management.  I complete one for ten life areas, (family, self/body, and career,) are three of them.    In my TalleyUP- Life Management System workbook, I suggest ten life areas for optimal balanced living.

The Power of Questions

I think it is critically important to clarify your values before deciding on your personal goals strategy.  You don’t want to climb the ladder of success and find that it is resting against the wrong building do you? You must ask the right questions if you want to get the right answers.  In my values clarification, I ask ten questions.  The answers uncover and highlight my values and make it easier for me to get clarity and certitude before embarking on any journey.  Three simple yet important questions I answer for each life area (career, personal, family, etc.) are:

1.       Am I happy in this life area?

2.       What’s working?

3.       What’s not working?

You’re going to want to do more of what’s working and less of what is not working.  It is that simple.  If you’re not sure how to do it, ask someone who knows.  But remember, if you do nothing you’re assured of getting the same results again and again!  Continue to Part 3 : Success Formula (Belief).

I’m Barbara Talley, the poet who speaks and inspires.  To find out more about me check out: What Does Barbara Do? or visit  my website.

My Success Formula (pt 3) Knowledge

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(Part 2) Are you OK?  O and K are the first two factors in my personal success formula.  O stands for Outcome.  K stands for Knowledge.  To be OK, you’ve first got to have a vision of where you are going and then the knowledge or faith that you can get there. If we don’t we tend to feel lost, bored, uninspired, and not really excited about anything.

Self-Knowledge Is Vital

It is our vision that provides a sneak peek of the outcome we desire and gives us that spark of faith and energy that we need to get moving.  We clarify and bring our vision into focus through reflection, inspiration, and meditation.  Once we know where we want to go, knowledge helps us to understand “how” to get there.  Knowledge is so vital that we begin the success formula with it. We must “know” ourselves before we can utilize our gifts, talents, desires, and resources.  For, unless we acknowledge what makes us unique and special, how can we take advantage of the opportunities, possibilities, and options available to us.

Knowledge Is Not a Static Event

You should never stop learning.  Knowledge is an indispensable element throughout my success formula.  It is not a static event, but instead is ongoing. When you stop learning you stop growing.  When you stop growing, you die; perhaps not physically, but certainly spiritually, mentally, and professionally.   That’s why immediately after you’ve decided on what you want to achieve, your next step is to create a plan to learn your craft to excellence.  (More on KNOWLEDGE)

  1. What do you need to know to get better at your craft?
  2. What do you need to know to be a better person?
  3. What do you need to know to be healthier?
  4. How do you plan to serve?
  5. What do you need to know to earn a living by your gifts and talents?
  6. How do you plan to “grow” this year?

I’m Barbara Talley, the poet who speaks and inspires.  To find out more about me check out: What Does Barbara Do? or visit  my website.

My Success Formula-(pt 2) Vision and Outcome

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O=Outcome

(Success Formula Part 1) Let’s start with your outcome or the results you want to manifest. This is why vision is so critical.  It charts your course after you decide the course of your earthly journey.  That’s a gift we’ve inherited at birth as co-creators.  We choose and then we focus our energies.  That’s how we move toward ours dreams.  It’s stands to reason that we must have a dream if we are to have a dream come true.  Step 1: Decide on the outcome you want to create.  What do you want?  What is manifesting right now in your life?  Are you moving in the right direction or do you need to change course?  What harvest is resulting from the seeds you have planted in the past?

You are not an innocent bystander in life.

Your input (or lack of it) helped to create your output.  You are creating reality with your every word, thought, belief, expectation, and deed. You are the master of your destiny, the captain of your ship, the CEO of your life.  So, if your current reality or outcome is a result of your own making, how do you use this knowledge to your advantage?  You use this power of vision and focus to chart your own course.

Vision- See the Outcome You Want

We’ve been taught that we should “begin with the end” in mind.  What is the outcome you desire?  What do you want to happen or not to happen in your life?  You must be clear.  Example:  “I want to make a living by my calling.”  In this example I would have to define what that calling is.  I think a purposeful life is a good way to start any endeavor.  What is your calling?  Answering the following seven questions will help you to find your true calling and help you to get “on track, or back on track if you’re sliding off.”  “Work” used in the following questions relates to the service you are providing to earn a living or to make a contribution to society. (Part 3 of Success Formula: KNOWLEDGE)

  1. What gift or talent do you have that sets you apart from others?
  2. What comes easily to you but hard for others?
  3. What gives you joy doing it?
  4. What do you love doing?
  5. What “work” would you continue to do even if you were not paid to do it?  (If all your needs were met.)
  6. What “work” do you perform that doesn’t feel like work?
  7. What “work” do you find yourself just getting lost in and losing track of time?

I’m Barbara Talley, the poet who speaks and inspires.  To find out more about me check out: What Does Barbara Do? or visit  my website.

My Success Formula

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Success is consistently manifesting the outcomes we choose.  I have had many successes in my life, a marriage for several decades, six smart wonderful children, six books, certitude in spirituality, and the bounty of finding and developing my unique talents:  motivating others through speaking, writing, and poetry.  I have been blessed to live on purpose!  Yes, I’ve had challenges too, but I know that what we focus on magnifies in our lives, so I choose to focus on what I’d like to see more of instead.  A powerful liberating thought I learned years ago was that life is choice!  We have the power to choose the life we want to live.  We just have to be willing to create it.

People routinely ask me, “Barbara, how do you do it?”   One of my success formulas is: (O=K+B+T+E+A).

I believe …

You fill in the blank.   Everything that I’ve ever accomplished started with a desire and belief that I could do it. What do you believe about your potential, possibilities, and probabilities?   Why does it matter what we believe?  Well, our beliefs are the foundation and driving force of our lives.  Our core beliefs influence everything especially our thoughts.  Our thoughts formulate our goals and expectations.  Our expectations determine what we actually do.  And finally, our actions create or contribute to our outcomes.  Of course there are some things that are not under our control, but many are.  There is a cause and effect whether we cognizant of it or not. In the next few posts I’ll discuss each element in my formula and its connection to our successes, results, or outcomes.  Part 2 of Success Formula

I’m Barbara Talley, the poet who speaks and inspires.  To find out more about me check out: What Does Barbara Do? or visit  my website.