If everybody else is doing something foolish, that's no reason for you to do it too. In fact, it is a grand opportunity for you to stand out and to advance quickly ahead of the crowd.

Just because something is popular does not necessarily mean that it has value. Would you rather live in slavery imposed by what others think, or would you prefer the freedom of deciding for yourself?

When your instincts tell you that something is not right for you even though it's popular, listen to those instincts. Going along with the crowd can be a big mistake when the crowd is going in a negative, destructive direction.

By all means enjoy fellowship and cooperation with others, yet always do so as your own person. Don't compromise the immense, unique value of who you are just so you can become lost in the crowd.

Consider the merits of what popular opinion has to say. Then base your own opinion on your own knowledge, wisdom and experience.

You are a unique and valuable person with your own special perspective. Decide for yourself, and bring that value to life.

-- Ralph Marston

Before you complain about how bad things are, take a few moments to make them better. Before you consider the day to be wasted, spend some time and effort to bring it real value.

Before you allow frustration to consume you, step back and put things in perspective. Then take a deep breath and choose to move forward with a peaceful, more effective approach.

Before you begin to fret about your own troubles, give your help to another. When you give of yourself, you'll discover resources and abilities you never before knew you had.

Before you give yourself over to anger, take time to listen and to understand. Before you lash out and tear down, look instead for ways to build bridges and create value.

Before you sink into the depths of self pity, see if you can find something to laugh about. When you avoid taking yourself too seriously, many more opportunities can open up to you.

Before you say or do something you know you'll regret, remind yourself of your highest purpose and vision. Before you take the next step, look where you're going, and choose the path that you know is best.

-- Ralph Marston

No matter what does or does not happen, your life has real and unique value. Even when you go through long stretches during which nothing goes your way, that value is always there.

The way to tap into that value is to stop focusing on what has happened and start focusing on what you can do. Even if the whole world seems to be against you, there is something of value that you have to contribute.

Forget about trying to figure out what is fair or unfair. Let go of your need to make judgments about what life has handed you.

Instead, reach within and touch that part of you that resonates with beauty, with peace, with truth and with joy. Then look outward with eyes that are freshly drawn toward the positive possibilities.

Give life a chance to move in your favor and you'll discover the many ways that it will. Give your thoughts and your energy to the real value you can create from where you are, using what you have.

Rise above the mere circumstances and start fulfilling the abundance of unique and beautiful possibilities that are you. Look for the authentic best in life, and you will surely make it real.

-- Ralph Marston

What desires have you left behind that you would like to have back? What dreams have you avoided that were meant to show you who you are?

It is never too late to recapture the passion that, after all, gives life to your life. Every moment holds the possibility of real meaning and fulfillment.

Remember what it felt like when you felt you could not live without your heart's desire? Listen to what that feeling has to say to you now.

There is a living spirit within you that knows no boundaries or limits. Experience again how great it feels to let that spirit soar.

Life can beat you down, close your mind and imprison your spirit, but only if you let it. Choose not to let it.

Reach into yourself and awaken your passion with a gentle and loving caress. Live the fulfillment that you know you must have.

-- Ralph Marston

It may at first seem that cynicism is a sign of sophistication. But it is usually more an indication of self-absorbed immaturity.

It may seem more realistic to look at the world and to pay the most attention to all the sorrows and shortcomings. But that is not even half the picture.

When you can look at anything and always see something to love and to treasure, that is when enlightenment is within your grasp. Any fool can criticize and find fault with life, for there is no sublime skill needed to tear things down.

If you truly want to be sophisticated, then be positive. If you seek to be acutely realistic, then focus on the positive possibilities.

For though there is a downside to life, it is far outweighed by the upside potential. Only things that already exist can have problems or be torn down, while there is no limit to what can be imagined and created.

Negativity is always self-limiting, for it surely and eventually consumes itself. The loving, creative, positive side of life has no such limitation, for the more it grows, the more possibilities it creates.

Choose to be truly realistic and genuinely sophisticated. Choose to be positive.

-- Ralph Marston

There is a place where you can focus, where you can be effective, where you can make a solid connection to the best you have to offer. It is not a physical place, but rather a place that you can reach within yourself.

There is a way for you to block out the distractions, to give your full attention to the task at hand. There is a way for you to rise above the noise, confusion and superficial concerns that would otherwise hold you back.

Where is that place, what is that way? It is found by living true to your most deeply held purpose.

It is reached by admitting and allowing the person you really are to drive your thoughts and actions. It is attained by honoring your most treasured dreams, by keeping them at the front of your mind, and by knowing that your life will make them real.

Remind yourself of who you are, of what you have to give, of the vision you can offer to life. That will put you into a zone where your thinking is clear and focused, and your actions bring the results you intend.

Whatever may be happening in the world around you, there is a way for you to get into a zone of positive purpose and heightened effectiveness. Connect to the person you truly are, and you are there.

-- Ralph Marston

Every decision you make will have its consequences. Every action you take will result in certain specific consequences.

And that provides you with an enormous, ongoing opportunity. Because it enables you to spend every single moment creating exactly the consequences you desire.

Life is filled with an abundance of very clear causes and effects. By carefully choosing the causes you bring to life, you can determine which of the effects you obtain.

Consider the consequences before you act, and choose those actions that will deliver the consequences you wish to have. Follow that simple formula with commitment and persistence, and anything you dare to dream will come true.

The things you do right now will set in motion profound consequences that stretch far into the future. For anything you can imagine, there is a way to move toward it in this very moment.

What consequences would you like to see for yourself and your world? Now is when you can make them happen.

-- Ralph Marston

The difference between success and failure is not in how many times you get knocked down. The difference is in how quickly you get back up.

High achievers experience at least as many setbacks as everyone else, and often quite a few more. Yet they refuse to let those setbacks stop them.

There are plenty of things that can come along to ruin your plans, and many of them are impossible to avoid. You don't have to let those things ruin your day, or your attitude, or your determination to move forward.

In fact, the more life pushes against you, the more clearly you'll see and understand how to push ahead. When you so choose, you can transform every setback into a new opportunity.

When the situation changes unexpectedly, choose to quickly adjust. Somewhere in all that change there is valuable energy that you can harness and put to good use.

When you get knocked down, get back up quickly. You'll very likely see a new way forward that you had never noticed before.

-- Ralph Marston

Have the courage to appear foolish, for the real fools are those who never attempt anything. Have the courage to make mistakes, for they can teach you like nothing else can.

Have the courage to take action. For even though your actions carry the possibility of failure, if you never act then you are certain to fail.

Have the courage to live each day fully, with enthusiasm and a generous spirit. Though there are many problems in this world, there are a whole lot more positive possibilities.

Have the courage to do what is right instead of what is easiest or most convenient. It will earn you the respect of others and, even more importantly, the respect of yourself.

Have the courage to see and accept things for what they are. That will put you in position to make a real difference.

Have the courage to love, to speak your mind, to follow your curiosity and your passions. Have the courage to give of yourself, for the goodness you give will come back to you over and over again.

-- Ralph Marston

NOTE:

Remembering the victim of July 2006 Earthquake.