Find your Master Key.

   Another post and another chapter from Steve Chandlers book "100 Ways to Motivate Yourself". I've heard and read about books that people find inspirational and have led to change in their lives. Books have that ability don't they and this one is becoming my inspirational book.
   I can dip in and out. The chapters and their message are short and to the point. The thing I like the best is how the writer isn't preaching or talking down. He appears to fall over the ideas by accident, which of course he hasn't but it keeps the book fresh and easy to read.
   Back to "Find your master key" or what fires you up. Instead of my usual, in a nutshell summing up of the chapter I'm just going to quote a quote from it. "The great master key to riches is nothing more or less than the self-discipline necessary to help you take full and complete possession of your own mind. Remember, it is profoundly significant that the only thing over which you have complete control is your own mental attitude." So said Napoleon Hill.  It doesn't immediately fire you up, does it? However it does state the obvious and the obvious, when you're not yourself, is often overlooked . I've spent an age thinking about why I can't get infused about one thing when I can lose myself happily for hours in something far less important. It's time to step back and think maybe it's not "the thing" I have a problem with but my attitude, or some aspect of it?
   In other news ...... which in a way isn't, as it ties in with the above, I was asked to do a bit of work for an old customer. I did some work for their daughter at the beginning of the year. Which went terrible slowly, I was a little surprised they asked but it was a chance to repair my reputation. So off back down to London where I was given a list of smallish jobs, which I calculated would take a couple of days. As they were away for the weekend and speed being a vital part of getting into their good books I offered to do the job then. I arrived and started, crossing the jobs off as I did them. I even had time to visit there son and repair his kitchen tap on Sunday morning. In the evening I sent a text with a list of what had been done. They're very happy and now I have another list of things they want done. Then it dawned on me, that I like being thought of as "reliable" something I haven't been for a while. Yes I'm kind, polite, funny, caring but not reliable and it's reliability I crave. Why? well it would fill a void within me. Depended on and trusted. Would signal a change. Even more importantly I would like to trust and rely on me. To do whatever needs to be done. No more, putting things off.
   Strictly speaking this isn't totally new to me. I think I've been here before but my nerve failed me. Like the time as a kid I first jumped off the high board at the pool. It took a few walks to the edge before I had enough courage to jump. It's important to remember, that I wouldn't of  jumped had it not been for those first abortive walks to the edge. So I've done the walks over the last years and months now it's time. Focus on the attitude and the rest will follow.

Onwards and upwards in the pursuit of fulfillment :-)))
 
             

Being Creative.

   Chapter 10 of SC's book on motivation "Welcome the unexpected" deals with being creative. He says most of us don't see ourselves as creative. Because we mix it up with being original. Which in reality has nothing to do with being creative. It's more about being and doing the unexpected. A great piece of music or art or film or meal or outfit isn't original. As it uses what's available to create a great piece of etc etc. It's the way you choose to put those bits together. Now suspend your belief that you are not creative for a moment and accept that the seeds of creativity do actually exist within you. Slowly you can start to come up with all kinds of different solutions to the challenges life puts before you.
   It's probably the shortest chapter in the book and I believe it to be the most potent. The answers to your biggest questions lay within you. When you go to your Doctor and explain your symptom(s) he's going to have to take an educated guess as to what the problem is, because it's difficult to put into words how a pain or an ache feels and we hardly ever add any background info. "I have a terrible pain in my lower back" and stop there, leaving out " I spent the weekend digging the garden, something I haven't done in 20 years." If we are confused about why we have a problem with something, then the person we turn to for help will need to be a genius. Which we believe they are, because we want them to be but genius's get things wrong just like we do. Get creative and find what lays beneath a problem.
   In other news........ Things have been very up and down recently. I am back to hiding away. Not depressed or down. Just hiding and avoiding things. As I've written before, it's funny how answers seem to spring from the strangest places when I'm dealing with a difficult situation.
  A friend has been playing with the idea of furthering her work skills. She's been interested in Dyslexia for a while now and I have been her guinea pig. She made some inquires about doing a course a year ago but it involved a chunk of money she didn't have. Recently her boss told a group of them results were not good and if they couldn't find ways of improving profits they may need to slim the workforce. She told her boss about the course and how it could have an impact, hey-ho the boss said "sign up I'll pay." So the first part of the course arrived in the post and she took herself off to the library and picked up a few books. A few days later when we met up to visit an antiques fair, over coffee she told me I was a genius. She had come to this conclusion after reading through her coursework. Oh how I laughed (on the outside, whilst thinking, could that be true, on the inside). While I accept that I have developed paths to get over my Dyslexia, it's no more than we all develop ways and strategies to overcome obstacles. Still it was meant as a compliment and I received it as such. It did set me thinking though. An ant looking up at a rock thinks "how will I get passed that" whilst an Elephant wouldn't give the rock a moments notice. Except maybe to think "why is that ant looking at that rock?" In future I should view my problems from up high. As a Genius and not from below as a Dunce.
   So something read from a book and a compliment from a friend arrive just as things are dipping down to somewhere I'd rather not go. When this has happened before, I rightly or wrongly assumed I was depressed and treated it as such. What if it isn't. What if my engine doesn't fire that well on petrol? my sails don't fill with the wind because my rigging isn't set that way? I have always thought of myself as creative but I'm not using that creativity as well as I could to find a solution as to what bugs me most. Well that's not entirely true. I have recognized that I'm not feeling down or upset just confused and I have mixed those feelings up in the past. I am also very aware that the gap between solutions and excuses is a very faint and thin line. One I've crossed several time before. So from now it's not a step back but a step up.
   When I'm coming home from London I pass a farm that's no longer a farm. It's a pub, restaurant, collection of small craft style shops and it's fields no longer grow hops and barley but play host to car boot sales and meet-ups for owners of exotic cars and the like. Yesterday I was earlier than normal so thought I'd have a look round. The little shabby-chic shop was full of brand near old stuff and signs to hang in your kitchen "Laugh, smile, dream big and do your own washing up" stuff that doesn't inspire me that much. The owner, sitting at her desk smiled and said there was more upstairs and I smiled back and took to the stairs not wanting to upset her and feigning delight at the prospect of more new old stuff and "life could be worse," signage. Upstairs however was sign free and full of old old stuff and for the next fifteen minutes I was like a pig in poo. In a dusty corner I found an Art Deco chrome floor lamp, with it's price tag discretely tucked away. I reached for it, expecting three numbers after the £ sign but nooooooo £28. Thats 35 Euro's or $45 to most of you. I pushed my glasses from their perch on the top of my head to the top of my nose and checked again. Still £28 no faint marks or bad penmanship that could be anything else than £28. Although being the only customer in the shop I dragged the lamp everywhere I went. Like a dog with a bone. Finally ending up at the desk and the owner. I smiled while inside my head the "disappointment department" was gearing up for "No, I'm sorry that's a mistake" instead "That's £28 please." I gave her one more chance to shatter my dreams "£28?" "Yes, it's probably worth more but I need to clear some stock." No doubt there was a container already despatched from China. Stuffed full of new old stuff and a sign for every kitchen in Kent, heading right for us at that very moment. To aid her in her quest to make space, I removed the cash from my wallet as fast as a drunk trying to put a key in a door. The "disappointment department" was screaming "calm down you fool." Minutes later I found myself in the car park. Pushing five foot of 1930's chrome lighting into my car and leaping across the bonnet like Starsky, or was it Hutch. In an effort to put as much distance between "Shabby Chic heaven" and me and my new lamp as possible. As I sit here alternating between typing and polishing the faded chrome I should add that the £28 was part of the cash I got out to pay a parking fine with. Welcome to my World.

Onwards and upwards in pursuit of fulfillment :-)))    
     
                

Build a track record.

   So back to Steve Chandlers book and chapter 9. It's a short and to the point chapter. He talks about one of the guests at a seminar he gave. The guy approached him and said he had a problem finishing things and could he give him an affirmation that might help. SC tells him the best way to change his belief system is to change the truth about himself. The truth being stronger than a false affirmation. He would need to build a record of finished tasks/jobs. The fella brought a notebook. Headed it "Things I've finished" and off he went, writing down each thing big or small he had completed. SC sums up the chapter by adding how much more permanent this man's new belief system would be rather than anything affirmations could do (as they had failed for him before). Although I've read through the book twice, I'd forgotten this chapter. If you've read the blog for any length of time you'll know I more or less keep a book of things to be done that day. I think I need to add a section at the back where I list the stuff completed and a short positive summing up of the week or month. I've also been finishing off outstanding business, paperwork and little jobs that are long overdue and in future don't plan to leave bits not finished. That kind of stuff weighs heavily on me and it would seem an easy one to stop.
   NicE left a long and thoughtful comment to my last post. Which I haven't published yet. It deserves an answer which requires a little thought on my part. I appreciate comments. It's always a boost to know someone is reading or following a blog and as already mentioned they deserve a little thought and care in replying too.         
   In other news..... My window boxes. The first I've ever attempted, are still flourishing despite me not always being around. I brought some heather in readiness to replace the little flowers when they finally give up.  
   I guess I'm doing what every newbie coast dweller does. Collect shells from the beach. It all started because, I had a small glass vase and thought it would be fun to fill it with shell's. A friend liked it and gave me another bigger glass vase and I filled that. Now it's becoming a regular thing, when friends drop by, we walk along the beach, talk, say "hello" to passing joggers, dog walkers etc, look at the ship's out at sea and of course, pick up shells. I'm glad of the help. As the latest vase is a huge fecker. I've added a picture with a credit card size card at the bottom so you can get some idea of how big it is. So I've become a bit of a "size queen." Small and interesting no longer cuts it. Biggest is best, well at least till this vase is full. Going on "Shell Safari" whether alone or with someone, follows the same pattern. Check the tide is out on my phone app, stuff old plastic bag into the back of my Levi's. Close the door, cross the road and walk the few hundred yards down to the cut between the cliffs and I'm (we're) on the beach. I(we) wander along not really seeing much. Then bingo, it's Shellsville a patch of sand and rock covered with a mixed collection of vacated shells. Where do all those little sea creatures go? Some are wonderfully coloured. Why, I don't know, as this stretch of the North Sea is very murky. So it's not as if they're showing off to the other shells in the rock-pool, is it. If I have company, it doesn't take long before they turn into a kid again. Picking up any tiny rock or broken shell and being told "no that's a stone, no that's a tiny dead crab," which they speedily fling away, crying "URRRRRR" as the dead crab moves faster than it every did when it was alive, disappearing with a "plop" back into the murky North Sea. Then they hit their stride and actually start finding shells. At some point they will find one which they hold back from the bag "Ummm I think I might keep this one." 

Late yesterday afternoon low tide was around 6 and Sunset was about half an hour later. So I thought along with a few shell's I might get a couple of shots of the Sun disappearing below the waves. Unfortunately it went down behind some clouds. So no stunning pictures except when I turned to come home there was the moon and I carefully steeped around the rock pools near the waters edge I managed to get it's reflection in one of those pools. it was taken with my phone. I really should take my camera. I think it won't be long before vase no3 is full. So my walks along the beach won't entail lugging a couple of pounds worth of shells with me. Just the odd special one or two. Well that's enough for today (and something to cross off in my book).

Onwards and upwards in the pursuit of fulfillment :-)))
  

Empty space.

   I'm giving my "book chapter review a post" a rest today. For the last couple of weeks I've had a real lack of enthusiasm for everything. Everything but sleep and staring into space. Nothing notable has happened, it just crept up one night when I was asleep. It's been a while since I've felt like this and I thought "right get it down in print" but I feel such a dick having to admit it in print, I've delayed getting it down.
   Not letting myself surrender to it works short term. So a walk, making myself put stuff away, cooking something, clearing the back log of washing up, a bit of laundry, ironing, I know it's not exactly taxing but as I say it works for a while.
   However it's a long term answer I'm after. So the delay in admitting I'm a dick has been spent in some thought. Firstly, the common response from those close is, "you're just depressed." Well no I'm not. Depression covers a huge spectrum and we use it like a "get out of jail free card." So although I'm a dick, I'm not going to hide behind a label. I'm not depressed or suffering from depression. I do/don't do something that over a period of time leads me here and I don't suffer, I think I find some strange comfort in my emptiness. It's those close to me who suffer.
   So what is it I do/don't do that leads me here. I thought long and hard about this. Firstly it's internal, it's not someone or something outside that brings it on. I start things and don't have a very organised way of getting them done. I'll easily find something to distract me or if I hit a problem, decide it's best to go round it and come back to it later. I'm also very adapt at making people around me think that the problem is theirs not mine. So lots and lots of starts but not many finishes. It builds and builds then pop, nothingness. That's about it in a nutshell.
   Well almost. I'm sure I could delve back into my past and find out where it's origins lay but I'm as old as God so don't have the time or inclination for that. I must not start anything new where possible or something else is truly finished. Chip away at those things already started, in strict order of their importance. There are one or two other things where I should cut my loses and move on. I need to follow a set plan, regardless of how I feel.  I have to be the strong parent to my spoilt child.
   Enough of me.

Onwards and upwards in the pursuit of fulfillment )))       

Push all your own buttons......

   Steve Chandler starts chapter 8 of  "100 Ways to Motivate Yourself" with a description of the cockpit of an airliner. All the buttons dials and levers that the pilot uses to get us smoothly and safely from A to B and how, if we happened  to hear one pilot say to the other, "remind me what those buttons do again?" the journey wouldn't feel so smooth and safe.
   He then goes on to say that many of us move through life not really knowing what and where all our own buttons, dials and levers are and if we did, we would fly smoother and safer. So get to know what pushes your buttons. If its a song that lifts you. Don't wait for it to come on the radio. Buy it, record it, have it somewhere close. Then play it, to lift your spirits or motivate you, as often as you need it. It may be something else. A walk, a passage from a book, a smell. Whatever it is, bring it closer. Use that lever.
   In other news. I woke up to the news that Robin Williams was dead. It's sad to think that someone so talented, smart and funny ends their life. Unable to reach out for help and unable to believe that there is help. There is still along way to go. RIP Robin.
 
The faster we move onwards and upwards, we'll find answers gain more and lose less.

Look for the lost gold....

   So it's chapter/motivation number 7, "Looking for the lost gold" from Steve Chandler's book. It's an easy one maybe to recognize in others. Someone you know always see the bad in something or always see's the funny side of things. It's a bit harder to see it in ourselves. At what point does my negativity or positivity start. Why do I get frustrated when stuck in traffic? and then blame anybody and everybody when the truth is I haven't given the journey enough time, planned or left some flexibility in my day. So I don't see the gold but I'm working on it. Equally there are things I always see in a positive light. Ummm what to do? Well I guess I could start my day, by looking for the gold in everything and all of a sudden the obstacles that frustrate are replaced instead with opportunities to see, feel, hear or get to do things differently and with joy. As SC says, "Your opportunities will multiply when you choose to see them."
   In other news. It's a slight coincidence that today we're looking for gold as I received, in the post. My first pair of reading glasses this week. After about 18 months of "I must get an eye test." I finally got round to it (my first since school). So now I can read the ingredients on the back of a packet or a book without holding it at arms length. As well as being able to read things, I'm also trying to strike intelligent poses in my new spectacles. Sadly without much success. I look more like the long lost brother of Dr Bunsun from the Muppets or Penfold from Danger Mouse. I'll let you do the Google image searches, while I practice a few more looks in the mirror.

Onwards and upwards in the pursuit of fulfillment )))     

Simplify your life.

   I missed out a chapter of Steve Chandlers book last time out. I guess I'm starting to wonder if it was such a good idea to promise to summarize a chapter a post but a promise is a promise. So chapter 7 "Simplify your life." The chapter deals with combining things to give yourself more time and doing things now and not putting things off. The simpler you keep it, the stronger it gets. Things are difficult when you're confused. When you simplify life, then that life gains focus.
   Each chapter has a little nugget within and going back over it either re-enforces the message or reveals something I missed. A promise is a promise.
   I'll have finished the two jobs I'm working on by the middle of next week and can then start pulling the old roof off my house and fitting the new one. It will be the start of putting something back into the house and not just ripping things out.
   I've changed a lot in the last few years all for the good. Although there are still one or two things I don't do well or avoid. Simplifying things has helped and I could probably do with taking another look and seeing if there are areas which I may still avoid either consciously or unconsciously. I'm not going to go into this in detail. Most of you, us want to see, hear or taste the results not get bogged down in someone elses life detail. so you're spared for the moment )))

   There was a huge shipped moored just off the beach at the end of the road at the weekend, waiting to complete its journey up to Sheerness or Tilbury but it didn't matter how many pictures or from how many angles I captured it, it just didn't look as big as it was. So sorry for the underwhelming picture but it's my blog and it's going in.

   I started writing this, this morning feeling pretty lazy and uninspired. funny how ten minutes typing can change things. So I'm off to be a better person.

Onwards and upwards in search of fulfillment )))