Why do we talk ourselves down?  Or allow others to do it?

We feed ourselves to remain healthy and we must also feed our psyches to develop and maintain a healthy positive attitude.

Here’s a sample power talk:

I care about others. 

I am fair and open-minded.

I can say I’m sorry quickly and emphatically.

I can name accomplishments I have achieved without hesitation. 

I admit mistakes, work on them but don’t fixate on the negative.

I can name 10 things I like about myself. 

I can name 5 people who I am grateful for and why.

I will never give up.

I listen not just talk.

I will no longer criticize myself as criticism is not constructive in any way.

By repeating a customized power talk every day – updating it and augmenting it – we remind ourselves of the difference between a pep talk and power talk.

A pep talk can be fleeting and superficial.

A power talk is a reminder of the fine person that we are.

Subscribe to these Day Starters for free here.

Share them with friends and family by forwarding this email or posting to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and other social media with my permission.

Read some sample chapters of my book Out of Bad Comes Good, The Advantages of Disadvantages here.

Don’t want to get these emails anymore?  Unsubscribe below.

Dreams without plans are delusions.

Dreams come true when there is a path to making them happen.

Want to change careers?   

Make new friends? 

Change your lifestyle?

Improve your health?

Pursue your passion? 

Step 1 – Know yourself.  What specifically do you seek? 

Step 2 – Design a road map to get to your specific goal. 

Step 3 – Who can be of help – seek their advice not their consent.

Step 4 – Know when to give up and when to persist.

Here’s how to know.

If you can take one defeat after the other and still work through your discouragement, you are eventually going to realize your dream.

If you are discouraged, tired, no longer sure – you have still accomplished something important.

To know what you want is as important as knowing what you don’t want.

Subscribe to these Day Starters for free here.

Share them with friends and family by forwarding this email or posting to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and other social media with my permission.

Read some sample chapters of my book Out of Bad Comes Good, The Advantages of Disadvantages here.

Don’t want to get these emails anymore?  Unsubscribe below.

The harder people try to feel stronger and more empowered – the less it seems to work.

Talk is just talk.

And taking action can sometimes be viewed as bullying or aggressive behavior.

Here’s the secret to becoming more powerful.

Be the person who gives away their power.

People are attracted to strong people who make others stronger as well.

Let someone else make the decision you were going to make.

Encourage others to recommend to you the best course of action (instead of being the one to dictate or strongly influence it).

Give the gift of your time (nothing is more appreciated than a person who is willing to listen). 

Find ways to give away your power – if you are the boss, supervise as if you were still the person that works for you.

Forgive.

Encourage.

And give credit that might belong to you to other deserving people.

I know a person who gave away most every award he received by accepting it and giving it to the person who helped him win that award.

Powerful people live a life of giving away their power not fighting for it.

Subscribe to these Day Starters for free here.

Share them with friends and family by forwarding this email or posting to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and other social media with my permission.

Read some sample chapters of my book Out of Bad Comes Good, The Advantages of Disadvantages here.

Don’t want to get these emails anymore?  Unsubscribe below.

Talk in terms of the other person’s interests.

Not about you.

What’s in it for them?

Companies fail to win cooperation because they talk about only what they want not shared goals and motivations.

Some radio industry CEOs set records for using words like “I” and “me” even while referring to employees as “team” members during motivational “town hall” meetings.

Unhelpful words to eliminate from your vocabulary when your interest is gaining cooperation …

Team (when referring to the corporate kind) 

I 

Me

The most helpful word …

You 

When others see what’s in it for them, they are more likely to help you get what you want.

Subscribe to these Day Starters for free here.

Share them with friends and family by forwarding this email or posting to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and other social media with my permission.

Read some sample chapters of my book Out of Bad Comes Good, The Advantages of Disadvantages here.

Don’t want to get these emails anymore?  Unsubscribe below.

You help build someone up not run them down.

When people put down others, what they say is best dismissed from your mind.

The longer it lingers, the more damage the insult does.

People have a way of remembering and repeating negative input while dismissing the positive.

Think of your brain as a special place that not everyone is allowed to have direct access to.   

You decide what gets in and what doesn’t.  

No one gets to say things that you don’t allow – you’re in control as you should be after all, it is your brain. 

So when something hurtful is said, you are the firewall that either lets it ruminate and stew or rejects it outright.

The master of human relations Dale Carnegie says “don’t criticize” — period.  There is nothing good that comes from criticizing yourself or others.

Asking for positive criticism is actually asking to be put down.

There is no such thing as positive criticism.

How can I be better?  That’s the best and healthiest way toward growth.

Subscribe to these Day Starters for free here.

Share them with friends and family by forwarding this email or posting to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and other social media with my permission.

Read some sample chapters of my book Out of Bad Comes Good, The Advantages of Disadvantages here.

Don’t want to get these emails anymore?  Unsubscribe below.

A sense of impending doom.

The need to escape.

Hyperventilation.

Rapid heartbeat.

Sweaty palms.

Just some of the symptoms for a panic attack that may last anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour or more.

Focus on breathing — exhaling and inhaling very slowly.  Help someone else by doing this with them.

Give yourself space.  Help others by letting them know you do not want help right now.

Concentrate on being and feeling safe.  If you help someone having a panic attack remind them you are “here for them”.

Panic attacks are very common in the interconnected world in which we live.

They can’t be argued away.

And panic attacks are no reason to be shamed.

Help by comforting someone having an attack not arguing with them or lecturing.

Subscribe to these Day Starters for free here.

Share them with friends and family by forwarding this email or posting to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and other social media with my permission.

Read some sample chapters of my book Out of Bad Comes Good, The Advantages of Disadvantages here.

Don’t want to get these emails anymore?  Unsubscribe below.

Elon Musk is miserable these days.

The founder of SpaceX and Tesla should have it all but he speaks publicly of depression, a nervous breakdown and the inability to sleep.

Happiness comes from realizing how fortunate you are.

A grateful person is rarely unhappy.

They find ways to see even small things – and especially small things – as reasons to be happy.

All Elon Musk’s money cannot make him happy because material things are transient flowing in and out of our lives.

Walking out of a breast care mammogram grateful for another period ahead of good health is the real currency not the amount of money in the bank.

Being poor can cause unhappiness but the pursuit of money usually causes the same feeling.

The only way to be truly rich is to be eternally grateful.

Subscribe to these Day Starters for free here.

Share them with friends and family by forwarding this email or posting to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and other social media with my permission.

Read some sample chapters of my book Out of Bad Comes Good, The Advantages of Disadvantages here.

Don’t want to get these emails anymore?  Unsubscribe below.

Empowerment is not bragging or exercising control over others.

We feel strong when we reach out and touch others.

Start the day by paying at least one compliment to someone else before uttering the words “I” or “me”.

Don’t look for compliments — give them. 

Compliment the person; not their looks (that’s flattery).  A compliment is only sincere when it is backed by evidence. 

Feel stronger by listening to someone else without interruption.

Let someone ahead of you in line at Starbucks.

When someone is stressed, be the one not to add to it.

When people are rude, it makes us feel angry.  But if we want to feel powerful, focusing on someone else without looking for attention in return is the first step toward empowerment.

Subscribe to these Day Starters for free here.

Share them with friends and family by forwarding this email or posting to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and other social media with my permission.

Read some sample chapters of my book Out of Bad Comes Good, The Advantages of Disadvantages here.

Don’t want to get these emails anymore?  Unsubscribe below.

Trust is not a feeling – it’s a decision.

Any doubts just reflect on the number of times you trusted someone only to be disappointed or hurt.

Before giving your trust, the other party must earn it.

Are they reliable?

Sensitive to your needs?

Honest, ethical – do they have a sense of fairness?

Look for the good qualities and also keep eyes wide open for the bad ones.

You wouldn’t let a person into your house who you didn’t first have good reason to believe could be trusted.  And then, you open the door.

The same applies to our lives.

Before making a conscious decision to put your trust into a person, institution or idea, make sure you feel comfortable about opening the door.

Think with your head – feel with your heart.

Not the other way around.

Subscribe to these Day Starters for free here.

Share them with friends and family by forwarding this email or posting to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and other social media with my permission.

Read some sample chapters of my book Out of Bad Comes Good, The Advantages of Disadvantages here.

Don’t want to get these emails anymore?  Unsubscribe below.

Happiness is positive cash flow.

Money without happiness is not worth the effort it takes to earn it and we do know through recent studies that money can only buy so much happiness.

Anything under an average of $70,000 per working couple will cause money stresses but any amount over the 50-state average of $70,000 does not make people any happier.  Not even a million a year according to the most recent poll.

These surveys reflected people who graded their happiness and then disclosed their incomes.

Money can’t buy happiness.

But a takeaway is that happiness is also worth more than money.

When planning for your financial future also include factors that lead to increased happiness.

Subscribe to these Day Starters for free here.

Share them with friends and family by forwarding this email or posting to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and other social media with my permission.

Read some sample chapters of my book Out of Bad Comes Good, The Advantages of Disadvantages here.

Don’t want to get these emails anymore?  Unsubscribe below.