Tag Archives: motivation

Change Is Part of The Master Plan

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It is December, the time of holiday spirits, year-end reflections, and the anticipation or regret of the approaching winter weather. If there is one thing that I know for sure, it is that things WILL change.  All you have to do is open your eyes to see change all around you.  There is new construction where once there were trees or abandoned property. Houses once filled with familiar voices and laughter are now empty or new occupants have staked their claims. The trees which once were spectacularly clothed by nature now stand naked and barren, while simple houses are lit and dressed in their best holiday finery.  Even relationships that we had last year have perhaps changed, some for the better, others for the worse.  And if we are fortunate, we too will  have changed! Remember, it’s not the strongest or wisest that survive, but the one most adaptable to change.

“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” -George Bernard Shaw

“Someone was hurt before you, wronged before you, hungry before you, frightened before you, beaten before you, humiliated before you, raped before you… yet, someone survived… You can do anything you choose to do.” –Maya Angelou

Change is part of the master plan and is inevitable.    Life will happen, with or without our permission, engagement, or opinion. Our only choice is to decide whether we will grow from the change or not AND whether we will drive the change or let it drive us.  You  can fight it, shape it, or embrace it.  So, why not decide to grow, to improve, to be happier, to be financially secure, to become smarter, to become more virtuous and loving, and to make your mark and make a difference.

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Give Yourself a Gift Right Now

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“What we give to others, we give to ourselves. What we withhold from others, we withhold from ourselves.” Marianne Williamson

Get it?  We’re all connected.  We are one.  So what is it that you feel you are lacking right now:  love, opportunity… encouragement?  Want to experience significant change right now?  You can,  if you just realize that all change happens only in the current moment.  Master the current moment and master your life.  All you have to do is think, say, and do the right thing in this moment, and the next, and the next.  And guess what, you’ll be different and things will be different!  You can make change right now by doing the following exercise.

Do this exercise right now.

  1. Think of something that you wish to experience or receive more of in your life right now.   Don’t worry; it’s okay to ask.   That’s the only way you will receive and anyway, you deserve it! We live in an abundant, loving, and harmonious universe.  It’s important to see the universe as abundant if you wish to receive from it.  If you see it as limited, shrinking, and hostile, this won’t work for you.  Okay, have something in mind?  Great!
  2. Now think of how you can assist someone else in getting that same thing.  Thought of a person?
  3. Write down their name and prayerfully think of some way to assist that person in some meaningful way.
  4.  NOW DO IT!
  5. Then report back later and share the wonderful results you are destined to experience.

Are Your Words More Like Honey Or Acid?

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Why do you think our wisest teachers have taught us, “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything?”

Before you answer, think about the people you trust, admire, and respect the most.  Are their words nice and sweet like honey or caustic and bitter like acid?  All humans have a natural intrinsic need to connect, to be liked, to be accepted, and more importantly, to be needed and valued.  One of the quickest ways to make that connection is by using nice (kind, pleasant, and polite) words in our speech.

It is through our words that we connect or divide and it is that connectedness that makes us truly human and attractive.

The question each of us must answer is, “Are we more likely to get our needs met being nasty or nice?” Our humanity is demonstrated through our compassion, sympathy, and kindness to one another, for there is an emotional component attached to our words which is communicated non-verbally.  One of the most powerful gifts that a human being possesses is speech. Each syllable and sound is infused with potential meaning and influence.  That is why we must always choose our words so carefully.  Unless we are being disingenuous, our emotions will also match our words and vice versa.  Nice people tend to say nice things; nasty people are likely to say nasty things.  You can’t completely separate who you really are from what comes out of your mouth.

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.

Only Requests and Promises Produce Action

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(Part 1 of article)

I had some choices; I could waste time regretting losing the opportunity for that last meeting I’d canceled.  I could feel remorse for even thinking about changing the meeting again.  But, in honoring Vaughn, I made a promise in the future to keep my commitments.  I wanted to say, “Try,” but Vaughn didn’t like the word, “Try.”  He said that we spend most of our lives making declarations and assertions.  He believed that neither of these produced action.  Only action produces change.  He taught that it is only through requests and promises that we change, produce, or make a difference.

Acknowledge Yourself and Others

Vaughn challenged us to acknowledge those people in our lives that matter everyday, to spend a couple of minutes looking into their eyes and letting them know how much they mean to us.  He even encouraged us to acknowledge our own selves while we were looking into another person’s eyes.  “Eyes are the windows to the soul,” Right?  Vaughn promised that we would make remarkable changes in our lives if we would also look into the other person’s eyes and let them be our mirror.  While looking in another person’s eyes, we are to acknowledge our own selves, saying what was affirming, real, and loving.  My friend Vaughn, was so organized and productive that he had his life planned out for the next 20 years.  He wanted to live to be 140.  I don’t think he made it to age sixty.  But his influence can live for 140 years.

Like Vaughn,  your influence can also last 140 years if you learn to look for the good in the next person you meet and tell them the beauty you see in them.  And, if you want to really transform the world, make it a habit.

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.

Don’t Put It Off!

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My mouth dropped open.  I was speechless.  I couldn’t believe the words I was hearing over the phone.  I was thinking about rescheduling my lunch appointment for the second time, but now I was the one being canceled.   I’d rescheduled our lunch from the previous week to the following week thinking it would be better, but it wasn’t.  After all, it was only one week.  The decision was perplexing me so I decided to just call my friend, explain the situation, and we would make the decision together.   But, now it is too late.  The woman on the phone was telling me that my lunch companion had died suddenly the day after our canceled lunch.  This happened over a year ago but I remember it as if it were yesterday.  I would never see my friend again and that opportunity would now be loss forever.  I couldn’t help but think about how precious time was, and that the only time we really have is now.  It is only in the current moment that we can count on and live.  This incident brings new meaning to the saying, “Don’t put off for tomorrow what you can do today.”

What’s the Lesson?

I had to ask myself, “What is the lesson I am to learn from this?”  In every situation it is important to learn the lesson, otherwise our tests are repeated.  Upon reflection I realized the importance of not taking anything or anyone for granted.  I learned that what we do in the moment creates our past and helps us to realize the futures we dream of.  The past is gone and tomorrow is not promised to anyone.  I needed to focus on that statement, “Tomorrow is not promised.”  All we really have is here and now.

So, what are putting off right now, that really should be done today?  Better still, if you knew you wouldn’t have tomorrow, “What would you be doing differently today?”  What would happen if you really lived like there would be no tomorrow.  What would change?

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.