Rand's Mind Tantalizing Thoughts

There are some things that are directly and immediately within your reach. And there are many other things that you can reach only when you're willing to take a few intermediate steps first. There is no one single roadway that leads to every destination. Often it is necessary to travel the road you're on until it reaches another road, and then take that other road to where you want to be. Each accomplishment opens the doors to many other accomplishments. Each step you successfully take gives you plenty of additional choices for where the next step will take you. Whatever is beyond your reach right now will not always be beyond your reach. There is some step available to you now that will put you solidly on the path. The most extensive accomplishments are made by those who are committed to finding and taking whatever intermediate steps are necessary. Though it's likely that you cannot reach your goal immediately, you can begin the process any time you choose. Be willing to take the intermediate steps, and you expand your options exponentially. Work step by step to your goal, and that goal can realistically be achieved

As long as there is work that must be done in this world, there is opportunity. And there is always much work to be done. As long as there are problems to be solved, there is a clear and accessible pathway to success. And there are always problems to be solved. As long as there are challenges to be overcome, there is a way for you to create whatever things of value you envision for your life and your world. And there are always challenges to be overcome. When it seems that there is no end to the work that must be done, stop and consider just what that means. It means that the future can be very bright indeed. For when there is much work to be done, there is much to be gained by doing it. Wherever there is work to be done, there is buried treasure waiting to be unearthed.

Everything you accomplish, you must first attempt. So get busy making those attempts. Procrastination and excuses do not lead to achievement. The way to make it happen is to make the attempt. You may very well fall short on the first few attempts. There may very well be plenty of good reasons to give up. Even so, keep making the attempt. Action and persistence will get you everywhere. How do you get yourself to make the attempt? By connecting that attempt, and the achievement it will ultimately bring, with a real and meaningful purpose deep within you. When you are clear about why you must do what you must do, you'll have no trouble finding the will and the commitment to step boldly forward. Make the attempt, as often as necessary, and you will surely make it happen.

Your thoughts and sensations may often dominate your awareness. Remember, though, that your awareness exists beyond them. Even when your thoughts are completely calmed, you are still very much aware. The thoughts and sensations come and go, and behind them all is your ever-present awareness. The thoughts you have are the thoughts you choose to hold. They are not you. Although you may have been stuck in a negative, destructive thought pattern for years or even for decades, you always have the choice of letting it go. For ultimately, your thoughts do not create you or define you, and they do not have to hold you hostage. When you know that you do not have to think, then you are free to think whatever you choose. When you experience your thoughts and sensations as objects flowing through your awareness, then they no longer have the power to hold you back. Your mind is an enormously powerful tool that is yours to use as you choose.

No matter what you do, or what you fail to do, the moments of this day will pass at a steady and unrelenting pace. Today will move right along, and there's no way you can stop it or hold on to it. What you can do, however, is make full use of it. What you can do is make something of lasting value out of the fleeting moments of this day. Yes, you could choose to put forth the very minimum effort required to simply make it through the day. Yet all that will do is take you to tomorrow, where the only thing you'll have to show for it is the need to make it through still another day. Instead, use this day to grow, to learn, to act and move and build and accomplish. Rather than seeking to merely make it through, choose to truly make it count for something great. Time is already moving steadily ahead. Make the decision, right now, to move ahead with it. Make full and joyous use of the unique moment in time where you now find yourself. You've been given the valuable gift of this day, so step forward and claim its treasures.

The only fears you have are the fears you choose. Choose to learn what those fears have to teach you, and then choose to let them go. The only distractions that knock you off course are the ones to which you give your attention. Choose an interesting diversion to follow every now and then, and let the others flow on past. The only things that can discourage you are the things you choose to see as discouraging. Keep in mind that there is some positive aspect to every situation, and you can always decide to focus on it. The only problems that can hold you back are the ones that you avoid working your way through. Choose instead to see those problems as the opportunities they are, and then get busy fulfilling their positive promises. The only time that is ever wasted is the time you let yourself settle for less than you're fully capable of living. At any time, in any situation, there is always a way to create real, lasting, positive value.

The only fears you have are the fears you choose. Choose to learn what those fears have to teach you, and then choose to let them go. The only distractions that knock you off course are the ones to which you give your attention. Choose an interesting diversion to follow every now and then, and let the others flow on past. The only things that can discourage you are the things you choose to see as discouraging. Keep in mind that there is some positive aspect to every situation, and you can always decide to focus on it. The only problems that can hold you back are the ones that you avoid working your way through. Choose instead to see those problems as the opportunities they are, and then get busy fulfilling their positive promises. The only time that is ever wasted is the time you let yourself settle for less than you're fully capable of living. At any time, in any situation, there is always a way to create real, lasting, positive value.

If you want to be exceptional, then be the exception. Forget about what most people would do in a given situation, and do what is best, what is right, what makes the most positive contribution. Exceptional performance is the result of exceptional thinking. Instead of merely reacting to circumstances and events, use the awesome power of your mind to develop a thoughtful, effective response. To be exceptional, be yourself. You have something valuable and original to contribute to every situation. Exceptional accomplishments are authentic accomplishments. Allow your priorities and your actions to be based on the values, purposes and vision of life that you feel most intensely at the center of your being. Exceptional performance is meaningful performance. Look beyond the temporary and superficial, and put your energy into creating lasting value that serves a real purpose. You were born to be exceptional, to blaze a trail into territory where no one has ever gone before. Choose today, and every day, to let your own unique, exceptional light shine brightly for all to see.

If you want to be exceptional, then be the exception. Forget about what most people would do in a given situation, and do what is best, what is right, what makes the most positive contribution. Exceptional performance is the result of exceptional thinking. Instead of merely reacting to circumstances and events, use the awesome power of your mind to develop a thoughtful, effective response. To be exceptional, be yourself. You have something valuable and original to contribute to every situation. Exceptional accomplishments are authentic accomplishments. Allow your priorities and your actions to be based on the values, purposes and vision of life that you feel most intensely at the center of your being. Exceptional performance is meaningful performance. Look beyond the temporary and superficial, and put your energy into creating lasting value that serves a real purpose. You were born to be exceptional, to blaze a trail into territory where no one has ever gone before. Choose today, and every day, to let your own unique, exceptional light shine brightly for all to see.

Envy serves no positive purpose. So when you start to feel envious, choose instead to transform that envy into inspiration. The good fortune of others does not prevent you from enjoying your own good fortune. In fact, the success of another serves to show you how the same level of success can be brought about in your own life. Instead of being resentful when you see progress and achievement, be thankful. Then allow what you see to inspire a similar level of achievement within yourself. Delight in the good fortune of others and you put yourself in position to share that good fortune. The more you celebrate life's abundance, the more solidly you connect to that abundance. Has someone else accomplished or attained something that you would dearly love to have? Allow yourself to be inspired by it. Let that inspiration sink deeply into you, so that it has a place within you where it will always be. Then take that inspiration and put it into real, positive, effective action.

Sometimes the best way to get something done is to stop working on it for a while. Focused effort is essential to success, and balance is just as important. If all your time, energy, thoughts, efforts and actions are focused in just one direction, you can soon become utterly burned out. You will get much more accomplished by balancing that intense effort with some time completely away from it. There is a reason why night follows day in a never-ending cycle. There is a reason why one season ends and the next one begins, over and over again. The best night's sleep comes after a day of focused effort. And the best day's effort comes after a night of deep and restful sleep. Balance allows the energy that has been flowing out to flow back in. Balance allows the frustrations and aggravations that have been flowing in to be released and disposed. Sadness and joy, peacefulness and excitement, effort and relaxation, discipline and playfulness all benefit from each other. Keep balance in your life

Take your deepest desires, values and purposes, and translate them into thoughts. Then take those thoughts, and put them into words. Next, put the words into action. And then, grow the actions into commitments. Translate those commitments so that they resonate in the world and in the lives around you. And you will end up with valuable, meaningful achievements that flow from your deepest values. Start with knowing and understanding the authentic person you are. Then work to express yourself within the context of the world in which you live. Translate your inner values outward into all of life. And life will grow more beautiful. Translate the unique person you are into terms that the world can understand, value, appreciate, benefit from, and enjoy.

If you want to be exceptional, then be the exception. Forget about what most people would do in a given situation, and do what is best, what is right, what makes the most positive contribution. Exceptional performance is the result of exceptional thinking. Instead of merely reacting to circumstances and events, use the awesome power of your mind to develop a thoughtful, effective response. To be exceptional, be yourself. You have something valuable and original to contribute to every situation. Exceptional accomplishments are authentic accomplishments. Allow your priorities and your actions to be based on the values, purposes and vision of life that you feel most intensely at the center of your being. Exceptional performance is meaningful performance. Look beyond the temporary and superficial, and put your energy into creating lasting value that serves a real purpose. You were born to be exceptional, to blaze a trail into territory where no one has ever gone before. Choose today, and every day, to let your own unique, exceptional light shine brightly for all to see.