I've been meaning to post this experience for some time. It happened on February 17, 2009. Here's my story:
My refrigerator has been making knocking sounds off and on for a while and I've been trying to ignore it. Sunday night it started knocking and just wouldn't stop. I called to set up a service call first thing Monday morning and they couldn't come until Tuesday.
As Monday went on, I started noticing that it wasn't even keeping our food cold anymore so I borrowed coolers from a neighbor and started emptying out my refrigerator and freezer. The good news about that is it's cold outside so we stored the coolers on our porch and the food was able to be saved.
I kept telling my husband everything would work out just fine. He started really stressing because of the cost. Just to have someone come look at it costs $69.95. Then, you pay for parts and labor on top of that. We had worked ourselves up to believe it would be expensive and may be worth just buying a new refrigerator. He really wanted to go buy one, but I told him to hold on. Our refrigerator is only three years old and is very nice so I wanted to just wait and see. I worked on keeping my spirits up and tried to help him keep his up as well. I called a sister and a friend to help me, and they did.
Today, the guy came to fix our refrigerator. He was here for about 15 minutes. After he had fixed the problem, he started typing information into his computer and asked us how long we've had the refrigerator. We told him almost three years. Then, he got very specific about when we moved in. It was the end of February 2006. Well, it turns out that, for some reason, our refrigerator was under a three year warranty and so the problem was completely covered, even the $69.95 trip charge!! This would have normally cost us $250.
I feel so incredibly grateful right now!!!! What I thought was a curse yesterday turned out to be a huge blessing. If it had not gone out for three more weeks, we would have had to pay for it to get fixed. Since it went out when it did, it was 100% covered!!
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Decision
At the end of 2006, I started Bob Proctor's Success Puzzle program and every day for 90 days, I read an awesome essay on Decision by Dr. Carole N. Hildebrand:
"There is a corollary element that must go hand in hand with the decision...and that is commitment. IT MUST BE A COMMITTED DECISION. Most of us have weak decision-making muscles...we do not even recognize what it means to make a real decision. We fail to realize the force of change, a truly congruent, committed decision makes. Part of our problem is that we use the term decision so loosely that it has come to describe our wishes, not our commitments. Instead of making decisions, we state our preferences. The word decision comes from the Latin roots, de, meaning from and caedere, meaning to cut...therefore a decision means cutting from any other possibility. A TRUE DECISION, then, means you are committed to achieving a result, and then cutting yourself off from any other possibility.
Committed decisions show up in two places--your calendar and your checkbook. No matter what you say you value, or even think your priorities are, you have only to look at last year's calendar and checkbook to see the decisions you have made about what you truly value. For example, I am committed to growth, both professionally and personally. A review of my calendar always shows multiple continuing education courses, seminars, and workshops in both the personal growth area, as well as in my profession. My checkbook is filled with tuition disbursements, purchases of books and videos. Bottom line...see how you have reserved your time...look at your expenditures...those are the road maps to the decisions you have made in the past.
After making a true decision, especially the tough ones, we usually feel a tremendous burden has been lifted from our shoulders."
With this definition of decision, when was the last time you made a true decision in your life? This is definitely something worth pondering!
"There is a corollary element that must go hand in hand with the decision...and that is commitment. IT MUST BE A COMMITTED DECISION. Most of us have weak decision-making muscles...we do not even recognize what it means to make a real decision. We fail to realize the force of change, a truly congruent, committed decision makes. Part of our problem is that we use the term decision so loosely that it has come to describe our wishes, not our commitments. Instead of making decisions, we state our preferences. The word decision comes from the Latin roots, de, meaning from and caedere, meaning to cut...therefore a decision means cutting from any other possibility. A TRUE DECISION, then, means you are committed to achieving a result, and then cutting yourself off from any other possibility.
Committed decisions show up in two places--your calendar and your checkbook. No matter what you say you value, or even think your priorities are, you have only to look at last year's calendar and checkbook to see the decisions you have made about what you truly value. For example, I am committed to growth, both professionally and personally. A review of my calendar always shows multiple continuing education courses, seminars, and workshops in both the personal growth area, as well as in my profession. My checkbook is filled with tuition disbursements, purchases of books and videos. Bottom line...see how you have reserved your time...look at your expenditures...those are the road maps to the decisions you have made in the past.
After making a true decision, especially the tough ones, we usually feel a tremendous burden has been lifted from our shoulders."
With this definition of decision, when was the last time you made a true decision in your life? This is definitely something worth pondering!
Friday, February 6, 2009
Reach Your Goals in Steps
Last summer, I watched the Olympics a lot. I rejoiced with all the athletes as they accomplished their goals they had worked so hard to reach. I also felt for those who fell short. One story in particular peaked my interest because of what it taught me. I wrote about it in the ThoughtsAlive forum, and I'm glad I did so that I have a record of it. My sister, Alisa, referred to it recently and added an additional thought. Here's the story I posted:
I watched Laura Wilkinson in platform diving last night. She's now 30 years old and was diving with girls half her age. Her background is that she surprisingly won the Gold Medal in Sydney in 2000 and in Athens, she came in 5th. She was planning to retire, but won the 10-meter title at the world championships in 2005 and decided to stick around and do one more Olympics. She had some pretty good preliminary rounds but by the finals, she wasn't looking so good. She had a bandage on her arm and it was hard for her to stick her entries. Her first dive was decent, but her 2nd and 3rd dives were pretty bad--lots of splash (that's how I can tell). By the end of her 4th dive, she was in 11th place and definitely out of medal contention. Her 5th and final dive was beautiful. As she was getting out of the water, the announcer said that she had envisioned her final dive to be just like that and to win the Gold Medal with it. That got me thinking. I wondered if she had envisioned her 2nd and 3rd dives, because those were the ones that kept her from getting a medal (the first two divers were extremely good, so I honestly think she was fighting to get a bronze). She wound up coming in 9th... every dive was important, not just the final one.
This is the thought my sister, Alisa, brought up:
Stephen R. Covey put it this way: "...there is no shortcut. If I am at day two (to use the analogy of the six days of creation) and desire to move to day six, I must go through days three, four, and five. If I pretend to be at day six in order to impress others, eventually I will be found out... I must move through each of the intervening steps. If I try to push too hard or to go too fast in order to shortcut the process, I may... drop back to day one." (The Spiritual Roots of Human Relations, p.14-15)
So many times, we tend to think, "When is this (goal) going to happen?" Break it down into bite-size pieces and when you accomplish the first step, move on to the next. Because we all start at different places, this may be fast or slow, depending on where you are and where you need to go.
Say you live in California and you want to drive to New York. You have a friend who lives in North Carolina who is going to meet you there. You're further away, but you keep driving and just get there. Your friend decides to take the scenic route and check out the sights along the way. Even though you're further away, you can still get there first, because you kept your focus and got there without distractions. So, nobody can give you a definite time frame for your goal--it's up to you!! Isn't that empowering? YOU have control.
Make it a great day!!
I watched Laura Wilkinson in platform diving last night. She's now 30 years old and was diving with girls half her age. Her background is that she surprisingly won the Gold Medal in Sydney in 2000 and in Athens, she came in 5th. She was planning to retire, but won the 10-meter title at the world championships in 2005 and decided to stick around and do one more Olympics. She had some pretty good preliminary rounds but by the finals, she wasn't looking so good. She had a bandage on her arm and it was hard for her to stick her entries. Her first dive was decent, but her 2nd and 3rd dives were pretty bad--lots of splash (that's how I can tell). By the end of her 4th dive, she was in 11th place and definitely out of medal contention. Her 5th and final dive was beautiful. As she was getting out of the water, the announcer said that she had envisioned her final dive to be just like that and to win the Gold Medal with it. That got me thinking. I wondered if she had envisioned her 2nd and 3rd dives, because those were the ones that kept her from getting a medal (the first two divers were extremely good, so I honestly think she was fighting to get a bronze). She wound up coming in 9th... every dive was important, not just the final one.
This is the thought my sister, Alisa, brought up:
Stephen R. Covey put it this way: "...there is no shortcut. If I am at day two (to use the analogy of the six days of creation) and desire to move to day six, I must go through days three, four, and five. If I pretend to be at day six in order to impress others, eventually I will be found out... I must move through each of the intervening steps. If I try to push too hard or to go too fast in order to shortcut the process, I may... drop back to day one." (The Spiritual Roots of Human Relations, p.14-15)
So many times, we tend to think, "When is this (goal) going to happen?" Break it down into bite-size pieces and when you accomplish the first step, move on to the next. Because we all start at different places, this may be fast or slow, depending on where you are and where you need to go.
Say you live in California and you want to drive to New York. You have a friend who lives in North Carolina who is going to meet you there. You're further away, but you keep driving and just get there. Your friend decides to take the scenic route and check out the sights along the way. Even though you're further away, you can still get there first, because you kept your focus and got there without distractions. So, nobody can give you a definite time frame for your goal--it's up to you!! Isn't that empowering? YOU have control.
Make it a great day!!
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Motivational Music
I love music and I'm sure many of you do as well. It's a powerful tool to learn concepts. There are songs to teach us the 50 states, states and capitals, order of books in the scriptures, etc. And who can forget Schoolhouse Rock? I love to put it on for my children and listen to them sing along with it.
I heard about Michele Blood a while ago. She writes motivational songs which Bob Proctor has used quite a bit. I bought one of her CD's and have enjoyed it. My kids like to sing along, too. "S-U-C-C-E-double S, Success, Success..." (I forgot to mention songs that help spell words, and those are out there, too.)
She offers a daily motivational song. You can listen to it by clicking on the link below. To make it easy to find in the future, I have added that link under my profile on the left side of the screen. The song will change daily and if you really like it, you can sign up to have it sent to your e-mail each day. Let me know what you think.
I heard about Michele Blood a while ago. She writes motivational songs which Bob Proctor has used quite a bit. I bought one of her CD's and have enjoyed it. My kids like to sing along, too. "S-U-C-C-E-double S, Success, Success..." (I forgot to mention songs that help spell words, and those are out there, too.)
She offers a daily motivational song. You can listen to it by clicking on the link below. To make it easy to find in the future, I have added that link under my profile on the left side of the screen. The song will change daily and if you really like it, you can sign up to have it sent to your e-mail each day. Let me know what you think.
Motivation  Inspiration |
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Adversity
I got a new purse for Christmas, which is good, because my old one was looking pretty hammered. That meant I needed to clean out my old purse and take everything out of it. While doing it, I came across a folded up piece of paper with the following story on it. I'm not sure exactly where I got it but I love the message.
Shake It Off and Step Up
Hardships
A parable is told of a farmer who owned an old mule. The mule fell into the farmer's well. The farmer heard the mule 'braying' - or - whatever mules do when they fall into wells. After carefully assessing the situation, the farmer sympathized with the mule, but decided that neither the mule nor the well was worth the trouble of saving. Instead, he called his neighbors together and told them what had happened and enlisted them to help haul dirt to bury the old mule in the well and put him out of his misery.
Initially, the old mule was hysterical! But as the farmer and his neighbors continued shoveling and the dirt hit his back, a thought struck him. It suddenly dawned on him that every time a shovel load of dirt landed on his back, he should shake it off and step up! This he did, blow after blow.
"Shake it off and step up...shake it off and step up...shake it off and step up!" he repeated to encourage himself. No matter how painful the blows, or distressing the situation seemed, the old mule fought "panic" and just kept right on shaking it off and stepping up!
You're right! It wasn't long before the old mule, battered and exhausted, stepped triumphantly over the wall of that well! What seemed like it would bury him, actually blessed him. All because of the manner in which he handled his adversity.
What a great message!! When you're feeling down and having a hard time, remember to SHAKE IT OFF AND STEP UP!!
Shake It Off and Step Up
Hardships
A parable is told of a farmer who owned an old mule. The mule fell into the farmer's well. The farmer heard the mule 'braying' - or - whatever mules do when they fall into wells. After carefully assessing the situation, the farmer sympathized with the mule, but decided that neither the mule nor the well was worth the trouble of saving. Instead, he called his neighbors together and told them what had happened and enlisted them to help haul dirt to bury the old mule in the well and put him out of his misery.
Initially, the old mule was hysterical! But as the farmer and his neighbors continued shoveling and the dirt hit his back, a thought struck him. It suddenly dawned on him that every time a shovel load of dirt landed on his back, he should shake it off and step up! This he did, blow after blow.
"Shake it off and step up...shake it off and step up...shake it off and step up!" he repeated to encourage himself. No matter how painful the blows, or distressing the situation seemed, the old mule fought "panic" and just kept right on shaking it off and stepping up!
You're right! It wasn't long before the old mule, battered and exhausted, stepped triumphantly over the wall of that well! What seemed like it would bury him, actually blessed him. All because of the manner in which he handled his adversity.
What a great message!! When you're feeling down and having a hard time, remember to SHAKE IT OFF AND STEP UP!!
Friday, December 26, 2008
New Year
I realized that when I gave my last entry the title "I Resigned...," I think I subconsciously resigned from updating my blog.
What I love about the new year is it always gives me a fresh start. I'm planning to update my blog more regularly. Writing is something I don't feel comes naturally to me, but I know that the more I do it, the better I get. I am continually learning and this is a good way to share what I'm learning with like-minded individuals.
Thanks for visiting my blog. One of my goals for 2009 is to make it even better and provide more content. I'm excited for the new year and all the possibilities it contains!
What I love about the new year is it always gives me a fresh start. I'm planning to update my blog more regularly. Writing is something I don't feel comes naturally to me, but I know that the more I do it, the better I get. I am continually learning and this is a good way to share what I'm learning with like-minded individuals.
Thanks for visiting my blog. One of my goals for 2009 is to make it even better and provide more content. I'm excited for the new year and all the possibilities it contains!
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
I Resigned...
In writing my last post, I wrote about doing the best you can and letting God make up the difference. Leslie Householder tells us to resign as Manager of the Universe. I've always kind of chuckled at that and gone on with my life.
I've been rereading Florence Scovel Shinn's book "The Secret Door to Success" and in there is a chapter entitled The Fork in the Road. I was reading it about a week ago and I had been going through a rough time. I was feeling sick, stressed out and like I just couldn't handle everything. I read a quote and the thought came to me, "You need to resign as Manager of the Universe." I started to laugh it off and it came to me again and said, "No, you literally need to resign as Manager of the Universe."
I know it's powerful to bring goals, dreams, etc. into the physical by writing them down so I drafted a letter. I did it quickly because if I dragged it out, I would end up not doing it. So, here it is.
October 15, 2008
Dear Universe,
I hereby submit my resignation, effective immediately, as Manager of the Universe.
In contemplating the last few weeks of my life, it has come to my attention that I haven't been doing a very good job.
I am ready and willing to step aside for the good of my life, and that of my family.
I am divinely led. I follow the right fork in the road. God makes a way where there is no way. I am turning that job over to God NOW!
Sincerely,
Melanie Valderrama
You know what? I feel great!!
I've been rereading Florence Scovel Shinn's book "The Secret Door to Success" and in there is a chapter entitled The Fork in the Road. I was reading it about a week ago and I had been going through a rough time. I was feeling sick, stressed out and like I just couldn't handle everything. I read a quote and the thought came to me, "You need to resign as Manager of the Universe." I started to laugh it off and it came to me again and said, "No, you literally need to resign as Manager of the Universe."
I know it's powerful to bring goals, dreams, etc. into the physical by writing them down so I drafted a letter. I did it quickly because if I dragged it out, I would end up not doing it. So, here it is.
October 15, 2008
Dear Universe,
I hereby submit my resignation, effective immediately, as Manager of the Universe.
In contemplating the last few weeks of my life, it has come to my attention that I haven't been doing a very good job.
I am ready and willing to step aside for the good of my life, and that of my family.
I am divinely led. I follow the right fork in the road. God makes a way where there is no way. I am turning that job over to God NOW!
Sincerely,
Melanie Valderrama
You know what? I feel great!!
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