Tools: Wordle

I found this great web app.  It’s called Wordle, it lets you put your words, prose, poetry, etc. into a visualation with cool fonts and cool colors.  I did mine from a famous piece from author Marianne Williamson (with a couple adjustments), Our Deepest Fear.  I would encourage people to use this to post inspirational messages on your computer, print them out and leave them around the house, etc.  Helping you to feel better about your day, that’s my goal.  And yes God IS so good!

Tools: Affirmations

I blogjacked this from the IPopin website. I think I’m going to start posting affirmations 1-2 times a week. They help to get you in a better mindset for creation. Yay affirmations! (I know, I’m corny!)

I choose healthy relationships based on mutual love and support.

And I do, this day and everyday. God is SO good. Enjoy!

Tools: Simply Successful Secrets

Top 25 Simply Successful Secrets

Rounded up by David Potts of todayistheday.com

I need to revisit this list often. It’s very helpful and I find myself doing many things on the list! Make sure to click on the link above to view the rest of the list. Enjoy!

1. Exercise/Eating Healthy Foods – Including walking, running, swimming, rollerblading, bicycling, resistance exercise, yoga, pilates, taking the stairs, drinking plenty of water, drinking healthy tea, taking vitamins and/or minerals, practicing martial arts, and eating foods in the proper proportions and at the proper times of day.

2. Read – Including books, textbooks, blogs, helpful magazines, newspapers, library books, children’s books, fiction and non-fiction, articles, newsletters, mind puzzles, comic books, and the Bible.

3. Practice Productivity Habits – Including Simpleology, “tickler” systems, time management, focused intensity exercises, responding to email/telephone calls in a timely manner, being organized, finishing tasks once they are started, keeping a to-do list, turning off the TV, reviewing tasks the night before, doing tasks in chunks or blocks of time, prioritizing, only focusing on things within our control, knowing when to stop spending time on any given task, knowing which tasks are even worthy of your time, keeping it simple, using the proper tools, doing something right the first time, and controlling the flow of information.

4. Switch Off/Quiet Time/Recreation – Including taking down time to watch TV, playing games/video games, getting out of the house, knitting, spending time with friends, making time for yourself, working on community activities, shopping, taking a bath, rewarding yourself, sitting in a hot tub, and other recreational activities. – 51 Votes

5. Staying Focused on Mindset and Tasks – Including being mindful of the proper mindset for any given situation, avoiding stress by knowing when to say “no”, staying focused on the task(s) at hand, listening to your intuition, consistently working on tasks that lead to goal attainment, being persistent or having a high level of perseverance, being focused on the journey rather than the reward, taking one step at a time, reminding yourself why you are doing what you are doing, giving your best effort every single time, and practicing affirmations.

6. Finding Joy/Happiness – Including the realization that we can create joy from our own state of mind, observations of the many things in our lives to be joyful about, having fun, smiling, laughing, appreciating life/nature, not taking life too seriously, enjoying the little things, doing what you want to do at any given moment, having a cheerful attitude, loving your work or your career, living/working with passion, celebrating your successes, living every day as if it is your last, and acting silly.

7. Practice Gratitude – Including reflecting on life, being grateful for wonderful events, for lessons that have been learned, for health, for opportunities, for other people in our lives, for the beauty of nature, for jobs and careers, and for technology. Also, thinking of things before bed and again upon rising to be grateful for, and not taking people or situations for granted.

8. Visualize/Clarify short and long-term Goals – Including visualizing the future, setting new goals, reading goal lists, clarifying and documenting desired outcomes, saying goals out loud, making/focusing on vision boards and other goal reminders, setting intentions, practicing Law of Attraction principles, and reevaluating and refocusing on your goals when circumstances change.

9. Writing – Including blogs, business and personal journals, articles, stories, notes, websites, and copywriting.

10. Family Time – Including play time, family meals, watching TV, reading to children, spending time with spouse/significant other, talking to parents or other relatives, spending time with children.

11. Learning from other People – Including emulating successful behavior, avoiding mistakes that other people have made, learning something new every day, and engaging in interesting conversations.

12. Practice Personal Growth/Self Development – Including asking “How can I?” questions, reading personal development articles, books, & blogs, surrounding yourself with positive/empowering people, committing to personal or spiritual transformations, being self-sufficient, and listening to, reading, or watching motivational or inspirational content.

13. Becoming Still/Letting Go – Including a conscious effort to stop thinking about how things are going to work, taking mental down time during which you do not think about the future, practicing resistance releasing techniques, not overly thinking situations, simply being quiet, and listening when others speak.

14. Research/Gain Experience – Including Internet research, asking others for their opinions, trying new things outside of the norm, and getting job/personal/career related education or experience.

15. Not being Afraid/Pushing your Limits – Including taking on challenging projects, setting hard to reach goals, accepting difficult employment assignments, trying new things, asking for help, saying “no”, and taking risks. Also includes getting outside of your comfort zone, continuing to focus on a task even when you think you can’t do it anymore, doing things that you wouldn’t normally do, putting yourself in difficult situations so that you have no choice but to perform, having big dreams, and embracing the unknown.

16. Helping Others – Including social work, forgiving others for past misgivings, being available when others need assistance, opening up, donating time or money, giving back/paying it forward, giving advice/feedback to others, knowing when not to give advice, helping others to attain greater heights, and being generous.

17. Meditate – Including guided meditation, mind-clearing meditations, Holosync, hypnotherapy recordings, brain-wave recordings, breathing techniques, deep thought, reprogramming of old belief systems, and paraliminals.

18. Planning/Scheduling – Including planning tasks to be accomplished on any given day, planning days or weeks in advance for upcoming tasks, scheduling the proper amount of time at or away from your place of business, and starting or stopping work according to a preset schedule.

19. Be Creative – Including writing, making jewelry, metal works, painting, gardening, designing graphics, drawing, cooking, doing something crazy once in awhile, sculpting, daydreaming, singing, writing poetry, sewing, crocheting, and just generally allowing the mental flow of creativity.

20. Communicate Online – Including instant messaging, email, message boards, telecommuting, and sharing files online.

21. Be Confident in who you Are – Including coming up with your own solutions to problems, choosing appropriate advice to take that is given by others, believing in yourself and your abilities, believing in your career or choice of business, leveraging your personal strengths, knowing your weaknesses, having great love for yourself, and making eye contact with other people. Also, not being afraid to be yourself, admitting your mistakes, not modifying your personality to suit the needs of others, allowing yourself to be at ease as you go through life, and making personal observations about yourself so that you can make modifications as you see fit.

22. Get up Early – Including getting out of bed before other members of the household, getting up early enough to accomplish tasks before the busy parts of the day, enjoying quiet time before the world wakes up, and getting up at the same time on the weekends as during the week.

23. Having a Positive Attitude – Including looking on the bright side, not succumbing to negativity, not allowing circumstances to dictate your level of happiness, practicing forgiveness, and removing negative people and influences from your life.

24. MasterMind Groups/Partnerships – Including working with or being influenced by others for the purposes of goal setting, best practices, growth strategies, conference calls, sharing ideas, networking, and spending time with others who have similar interests.

25. Get out in Nature – Including going for walks, hiking, gardening, sitting outside, enjoying fresh air, and general communing.

Tools: Floor Planner

I love finding sites that help me get clearer about what I want. This site is so wonderful, you get to create your own floor plans and rearrange furniture, etc. I’m using it to map out my house (I’ve drawn it out and I’ve used a software on my computer, but this web tool is the most fun!) There are some fun features too, like you can change the color of the car in the garage to match the car you have or want. There are a variety of furnishings to choose from as well as colors. There are many more features so check out the site yourself: Floor Planner.

Some good applications for this:
1. If you want update your home and are trying to get an idea of how your furniture will fit.
2. If you’re attempting to visualize your new home you can work through an iteration of layouts to your liking.
3. If you’re expecting to add an addition you can work out the possibilities.

I think it’s wonderful, I was told once that you have to clear about what you want so you recognize it when it comes. Words to live by, and I’m using this tool to help me get closer to it.

Here’s an example that I pulled from the website:

Tools: Life Coach 1.0

Do you need help with your top 3 goals? Are you having trouble starting them or charting out what to do? Well I have something that might help you – Life Coach 1.0. Designed by author Keith Ferrazzi, it helps to empower you to be your own coach. These are just introductory steps, but it helps a whole lot to do the initial steps.

Here is the description from the website:

This tool will help you take the first steps to becoming your own coach and achieving your life’s dreams!

1. Focus on what you want
2. Diagnose what’s getting in your way
3. Build a Dream Team for support

So what are you waiting for? Get started here.

Here is an example of results (no, these are not really mine):

Enjoy!

Tools: Quotes

Be careful of the company you keep. I’m working on attracting and making myself available to people who can help me grow and who I can help to grow. Meditate on this for a moment and think about the people who are in your life. Are they adding to your growth or taking away from it? And if the later is true what do you plan on doing about it? After a couple of recent experiences I’m realizing I need to be more choosy about the people I spend time with. I am setting forth the intention to do this, because it’s necessary for my wellbeing and growth.

“One thing I’ve learned is that it is important to surround yourself with the kind of people you aspire to be. If you hang around with deadbeats and pessimists, you’ll end up with a negative view of the world.” – Tom Kelley

I’m choosing to have a positive view of the world and hopefully you will too. Enjoy!

Tools: Mind Mapping

This is a nifty little tool I found for creating Mind Maps, it helps me to keep focused on what my goals are. It also lets me see how to break the huge goals down to smaller tasks. This way I can start on a fairly large project and not be overwhelmed. It’s heaven sent. I use a software called FreeMind and boy does it free my mind of all the mental clutter.

Update: There is an online version of the Mindmapping that’s also free: Mindomo.

Here’s the beginning of one of my Mind Maps that I’m preparing for my birthday (D-Day):

Tools: Quotes

I feel like this quote is awe-inspiring. It didn’t hit me until I read it for the third time, let’s see if it works for you as well.

God became man so that man could become god, but He also became man so that man could become Man.
- Kallistos Ware

Tools: Visualization Board

I’ve created this board to remind me daily what my focus is.  This is to reaffirm what I am manifesting in my life today and in the future.  Please enjoy.  I have a copy on my computer desktop because I spend so much time on the computer, I see it often and I reflect on it often.  God is SO good.