Never giving up...and gratitude

Hi Everyone,

I just got off the phone after speaking with financial guru Jean Chatzky, author of a new book, The Difference. I read the book recently and really liked it. It is an optimisitic view of the current times because it puts the power to succeed in our own mind and hands. This meshes perfectly with my Strategies of Success program. In fact, I'm in the process of updating it a bit as I'm about to donate it to 300 schools. As I read her book, I kept thinking how great this would be in terms of making my program better. She not only talks positively about life and money - she has the extensive research to back it up.

Why am I telling you about this? Three reasons:
1. If you like to read, and even if you don't, get the book. It will help you see things in a new way and will inspire you to be more successful. It not only tells you about the different financial groups, it tells you what the characteristics are of each one. And better yet...it tells you how to move up. She knows it's possible...and you will believe too after reading it.

2. This is another lesson in not giving up. I've been trying to reach the Oprah show for years to talk about my program. Anyone who knows me, knows this. So today, not only was I on the Oprah and Friends radio network, but I'm also going to have my picture and a short bio on Oprah.com!!! I'm getting closer...to being on the show and letting many schools know at once about the Strategies program.

3. And finally, things come to you when you least expect it. I've certainly done the work - I write to people constantly, visit schools, try to tell the world. But this came to me - not when I was trying to get my program noticed - but when I was expressing gratitude. I loved her book so much that I went to Jean Chatzky's site to tell her. Pure and simple...just to say thanks.

So thanks, Jean...for writing your book, for never giving up on finding ways to reach and help people, for giving me the chance to tell the world about my program.

What are you grateful for today? Who can you thank? Not because you want to get something...just because you truly are grateful...

Swine flu, friendship, social networking and other random thoughts

First of all, you can now find me at Twitter and Facebook. I will be writing short messages there to share quick tips and messages. I know how busy everyone is, including me, so often there is little time to read (and write) the blog. Just search for my name on both and you'll find me (Marianne Douglas. I'm also on Digg, Squidoo, MySpace, Plaxo, and Linked In.)

Are you worried about the swine flu? I can't say I am. I'm more worried about those that spread the fear. Check out these Tweets from Tony Robbins that I read this morning and that I have also been saying:
* the misdiagnosis of swine flu and its treatment in 1976 killed more people than flu
* the L.A. Times now reports that this swine flu is so mild it will probably be less than a normal flu season
* "Fear defeats more people than any other one thing in the world." Ralph Waldo Emerson
* "The enemy is fear. We think it is hate; but, it is fear." Gandhi.

Everyone is running around scared. The airlines even tossed the pillows and blankets (which to be honest weren't all that sanitary to begin with but I sure could have used a blanket when I flew home Saturday!!) Another lesson in being better prepared!

Don't let fear rule your life. Fear is worry about things that most likely will not ever happen. Try to balance your thoughts by thinking and seeing in your mind's eye the opposite of what you fear. All the great inspirational leaders ask us to see what we want, not what we fear.

Someone sitting next to me yesterday said she was going to give someone "a piece of her mind". Will she have less mind left if she gives some away in anger? Hmmmm....

And finally, here's a great message from one of the people I subscribe to - the Happy Guy.

FRIENDSHIP

Everything is easier with friends. They are so important to our sense of well-being. In an interesting experiment, researchers took 34 students to the base of a steep hill with a weighted backpack on each. They were then asked to estimate the steepness of the hill. Some participants stood next to friends, while others stood alone.

Those students who stood with friends gave lower estimates of the steepness of the hill than those who stood alone. Eevn more telling was that the longer the friends had known each other, the less steep the hill appeared to them.

Our lives are full of steep hills. Injuries, Illness. Loss. Stress. Financial. A friend can make the hill seem much less steep. Have you called up a friend recently?

Have a great day!!