Love Yourself, Accept Yourself, Forgive Yourself [BLOG]:

“Love yourself—accept yourself—forgive yourself—and be good to yourself, because without you the rest of us are without a source of many wonderful things.”―Leo F. Buscaglia 
You mean I am a source of many wonderful things?
Yes. Actually you are. Own up to it.
Leo has it right.

1. Love yourself.

Despite all the things that you think may be terribly wrong with you, love yourself. Love yourself.
Tattoo it on your brain.
I can think of so many reasons why you should love yourself, but here’s just one: It is incredibly dull and uninspiring to be around people who do not love themselves.
I spent many years being anorexic and feeling like I was a monster. I’m sure I was not much fun to be around and I also know that I didn’t book any of the acting jobs I was trying to land. It is very challenging to hire someone or love someone who fights you by holding up a mirror of hatred toward themselves.
Here’s my challenge for you today: Take a picture of your face and remember that in ten years time you will be amazed at how gorgeous you were. Be amazed now.
Identify something about you that you may not adore and find a way to at least laugh at it or like it, even a little bit.
I have profound hearing loss; in fact, I am almost deaf and wear hearing aids. I have ringing in my ears twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Does it drive me mad most days? Yes. However, it is here to stay, and I have learned that I can make light of it or sit home and feel sorry for myself because I am missing out on what feels like everything.
Either way the choice is mine to make. I have also learned that because of my hearing loss, my other senses are highly attuned. I am more compassionate because of it. I am a healer.
I have turned something I don’t necessarily “love” having into another piece in the puzzle of me, and part of why I love that puzzle.
Instead of thinking “I am an incomplete human being because I can’t hear perfectly,” I think “I am an incredible human being with a profound sense of touch and understanding and a huge capacity for love. I am also awesome at reading lips. So there.”
What can you love about yourself today that you may have struggled with before?
Can you find a way to cultivate the opposite? According to Pantajali’s Yoga Sutra 2.33, “When the mind is disturbed by improper thoughts constant pondering over the opposites is the remedy.”

2. Forgive yourself.

I lead a meditation in my workshops on forgiveness, and every time, without fail, people start crying. Almost everyone in the room will have at least shed a tear. This leads me to believe that we are all indeed connected, a union—which is what the word Yoga means.
The human experience is so similar, and yes, I know the details are vastly different, and that the devil lies in the details, but, we still share the same weight on our shoulders. That weight would be diminished if we chose to forgive instead of harboring guilt or anger.
People cry most in my workshops when we do the meditation on forgiving yourself. Most likely it’s because we are hardest on ourselves.
What can you forgive yourself for today?
I forgive myself for saying “I hate you” to my father right before he died when I was eight years old. I carried it around for many years and let it color my life a dark airless color.
I forgive myself for not being perfect.
This shift occurred was when I was finally able to let go of my eating disorder. We often hold ourselves to impossible standards and end up feeling bad.
Ask yourself honestly, “What can I forgive myself for?” 
Sometimes it takes simply saying it aloud or writing it down to realize that you actually no longer need to bear the brunt of it.

3. Be good to yourself. Do things that you inspire you daily.

Make a list. Grab your iPad or your notepad or even your hand and draw up a list of things you can do today to make you feel good.
Keep adding to the list. Forgive yourself if you skip a couple and love yourself no matter how long or short the list is and how much you accomplish on it.
You will not be graded or tested on this list.
My list involves a lot of laughing.  My “Feel Good” list also has: my yoga practice, teaching yoga classes, writing, a long leisurely dinner with friends, having a great glass of wine, staying up all night reading a book I cannot put down, being with kids who have special needs and teaching them yoga, poetry, Modern Family, Skype-ing with my nephews, and the list goes on.
Do something every single day that makes you feel good, whether it is changing your thought patterns or reading your favorite magazine in the bathtub.
Maybe it’s getting an extra hour of sleep or staying up late and watching Pretty Woman for the fiftieth time.
Pleasure and joy are highly underrated, and beating ourselves up, highly overrated. Flip it! Cultivate the opposite.
One of my main rules as a yoga teacher is that if you fall, you must laugh and take down your neighbor, which cultivates a sense of humor, and hopefully a little joy. You need at least a little joy daily. Sprinkle it on your cereal, slip it in your downward-facing dog, add it to your pinot noir.
Accept that you are indeed the source of many wonderful things. If you need help remembering what they are from time to time, keep making your feel-good lists. Keep coming back to the love that is inherently yours. It is your birthright.
Whatever it takes. Just do it.
A student told me after she returned from my July Ojai retreat that she wanted to live her life every day as if she was still on the retreat. And why shouldn’t she? What a revelation! What a revolution of the mind. 
Be good to yourself. You will train other people to do the same.
And guess what? If they aren’t good to you, you will still have your old standby who is always good to you: YOU. Pretty much what matters most at the end of the day. You being good to you. The rest will follow.
Remember the 90s En Vogue song with the lyrics “Free your mind, the rest will follow”?
It will. So get up and dance.

Jennifer Pastiloff was recently featured on Good Morning America. She is a yoga teacher, writer, and advocate for children with special needs based in L.A. She is also the creator of Manifestation Yoga® and leads retreats and workshops all over the world. Jennifer is currently writing a book and has a popular daily blog called Manifestation Station. Find her on Facebook and Twitter.

6 Phrases to Avoid to Live Your Best Life [BLOG]:

Our thoughts determine our attitude, our attitude determines our actions, and our actions determine our life.
That’s why, to realize our full potential, it begins with an understanding of the thought patterns that are holding us back.

Here are six phrases to recognize and avoid:

“I’m not ready.”

You’re as ready as you’ll ever be. Everything leading up to today has prepared for everything you will do now and in the future. What you’re not ready for, you will become ready for. Life will never introduce something to you that you won’t be able to figure out. You’re ready. In fact, you’re always ready.

“That’s impossible.”

Look around. Everything you see was once “impossible.” But then someone dedicated their life to figuring it out. You are possible and anything is possible. You only need to remember that you will figure it out.

“People will judge me.”

You’re right. They might. And if they do, are they the kind of people you want in your life? When you start doing what you love, you’ll attract people who love to do the same kinds of things as you. Let yourself be judged. It’s an automatic filter of the people you’ll want to minimize spending time with.

“I might fail.”

Yes. You might fail. And guess what? You will survive. You will learn to use failure as momentum. Your failures will lead you to your successes. The insight, learnings, and relationships that you gain from failing will often be more useful than what you originally set out to do. But only if you start failing. How can you fail today?

“I’ll start tomorrow.”

Will you really? Why can’t you start today? What’s one small thing you can do to begin now? Is what you want to start tomorrow actually important to you? Why is it important? Where are you hoping it will take you? If it’s important, work toward it today. Otherwise, don’t start.

“But I have to do this.”

False. You do not have to do that. You have a choice. Yes, you may have made a commitment and quitting or changing courses might not be fun in the short-term. But, do you really want to live a life in which you feel obligated to do things? Or, do you want to align yourself with people and opportunities that make you truly and deeply want to do things. It’s your choice. How can you take what you have to do and turn it into what you want to do?
When you change your thoughts, you change your attitude, actions, and the course of your life. Your best life begins now.

Ready to go big and accelerate the trajectory of your work and life? Check out The Bold Academy. Coming to Boulder this July, it’s a four-week in-person acceleration program designed to help you unlock your ability to lead the life you’ve always wanted to live. There are 10 spots left and applications close on April 5.

Amber Rae is a motivational force of nature, hell-bent on cultivating a world where human potential is not governed by what we’re told we can and cannot do, but rather by our highest intentions and inner gifts. She’s obsessed with helping people claim the lives they’re meant to live, and designs her projects accordingly. She’s the creator of The Bold Academy, an experience designed to help people find their deepest clarity, build confidence, and unlock their ability to lead the life they’ve always wanted to live. In the last two years, Amber launched the Domino Project with Seth Godin, turned insomnia into a global movement via Night Owls, and helped hundreds of people give their dreams direction, many of which were through The Passion Experiment. She’s been seen in The New York Times, Fast Company, Inc., Forbes, The Huffington Post, BBC, and ABC World News. She also contributes to Fast Company. For more about Amber you can visit her website or on Twitter.

While we are living in the present, we must celebrate life every day, knowing that we are becoming history with every work, every action, every deed.:

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The Champion Within Article

The Power of the Right Coach by Denis Waitley

Throughout history, most of the great achievements and incredible comebacks have been the result of an individual whose motivation to persevere was influenced by a coach or mentor. In science, art, politics, sports, and business, there is a common thread of having been coached among those who achieve greatness. A coach doesn't need to be a professional consultant or counselor. He or she could be someone within your organization or industry, or it could be someone from your personal life whom you respect or admire.
A study was undertaken on the Hawaiian island of Kauai by two researchers named Emily Werner and Ruth Smith. This study, which followed more than 450 people from childhood through their adult lives, was an attempt to learn why some people are motivated to overcome severe disadvantages, while others from the same background seem to have been overwhelmed by their problems. This research continued for an incredible length of time: 40 years, to be exact.

According to the research, one of the most interesting qualities of these motivated individuals is their ability to recognize potential sources of support in other people, to look beyond the walls of their homes to find relatives, friends, teachers, or other role models who can provide help. This very important finding illustrates the benefits of forming mentor relationships to encourage achievement.

Choosing a coach or mentor is like having an additional correctional device to keep you on target. An analogy of this premise comes from aerospace technology. Years ago, the military used inertial guidance systems on missiles. Unfortunately, once the course of an inertially guided missile is set, it proceeds along that path with no capability for adjustments. It's like a bullet fired from a rifle. Even when the aim is good at the outset, if the target moves unexpectedly once the projectile is in flight, the shot is going to miss. And if there's one thing you can count on in life, it's that the target is going to be moving! In the Gulf War of 1992, the Patriot missile that defended Israel and Saudi Arabia was introduced. Unlike previous defenses, this system had an advanced self-adjusting navigation system that continuously monitored the missile's trajectory as well as the path of its swiftly moving target. The Patriot was able to make whatever corrections were necessary, regardless of changes in the position or speed of its objective.

A highly motivated person uses a coach or mentor in the same way when he or she has targeted a worthwhile goal. A coach or mentor can assist you in making adjustments and navigating through difficult times.

Finding coaches and mentors is an important mission, and you will no doubt have several over the course of your life. It is critical that you choose them wisely. Your mentor is someone to whom you'll be committing a great deal of time and attention, and who ideally will take a very focused interest in you as well.

Tap into your core desires and talents to form your ideal life goals! Check out Denis Waitley’s 6-CD set, The New Dynamics of Goal-Setting. Click here for information or to order.

From Denis Waitley’s newsletter, a powerful lesson on finding that right coach and mentor. Someone who is going to keep you on track no matter what.

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There is something about truth that makes it easily recognizable by all who are searching for it with open minds. http://ow.ly/aDNKM Napoleon Hill Thought for the day