Inspirational Living: Life Lessons For Success & Happiness

Listen to episode 159 of the Inspirational Living podcast: Self-Made Men & Women. Edited & adapted from a lecture by Frederick Douglass.Self-Help Podcast Excerpt: Self-made men and women are those who owe little or nothing to birth, relationship, or friendly surroundings; to wealth inherited or to early approved means of education; who are what they are, without the aid of any favoring conditions by which other people usually rise in the world and achieve great results.In fact, they are the men and women who are not brought up but who are obliged to come up, not only without the assistance or friendly co-operation of society, but often in open and derisive defiance of all the efforts of society, and the tendency of circumstances to repress, retard, and keep them down.They are the individuals who (in a world of schools, academies, colleges, and other institutions of learning) are often compelled by unfriendly circumstances to acquire their education elsewhere and, amidst unfavorable conditions, to crea

Listen to episode 157 of the Inspirational Living podcast: The Positive Psychology of Success (Being Successful). Edited & adapted from The Psychology of Success by Newton N. Riddell.Self-Help Podcast Excerpt: There are elements of genius in every man and woman that if awakened and trained will enable them to do something worthwhile. There are stores of energy and ambition in every brain that if unlocked and given expression in action will supply the force necessary to bring things to pass.There are germs of goodness and divinity in every soul that if quickened by love and wrought into character will enable them to live a clean, self-respecting, moral life. Awaken the genius, unlock the energies, quicken the divinity in a person, change them from negative to positive, combine their intellect, energy, and conscience in harmonious expression, and you have given to that person the positive psychology of success.What is Success? What constitutes success? If we are to see things alike, we must have the same vi

Listen to episode 143 of the Inspirational Living podcast: A Guide to Health & Life | Naturopathy. Adapted from “A Guide to Health” by Mahatma Gandhi. Self-Help Podcast Excerpt: We have got into the habit of calling in a doctor for the most trivial diseases. And where there is no regular doctor available, we take the advice of mere quacks. We labor under the fatal delusion that no disease can be cured without medicine. This has been responsible for more mischief to humankind than any other evil. It is, of course, necessary that our diseases should be cured, but many cannot be cured by medicines. Not only are medicines often useless, but at times even positively harmful. For a diseased person to take drugs and medicines is often as foolish as to try to cover up the filth that has accumulated in the inside of our house. The more we cover up the filth, the more rapidly does putrefaction go on. The same is the case with the human body. Illness or disease is Nature's warning that filth has accumulated in

Listen to episode 122 of the Inspirational Living podcast: Autosuggestion & Self-Mastery. Adapted from the book Self-Mastery Through Conscious Autosuggestion by Emile Coué. Motivational Podcast Excerpt: Suggestion, or rather Autosuggestion, is quite a new subject, and yet at the same time it is as old as the world. It is new in the sense that until now it has been wrongly studied and in consequence wrongly understood; it is old because it dates from the appearance of human beings on earth. In fact, autosuggestion is an instrument that we possess at birth, and in this instrument, or rather in this force, resides a marvelous and incalculable power, which according to circumstances produces the best or the worst results. Knowledge of this force is useful to each one of us, but it is especially indispensable to doctors, judges, lawyers, and to those engaged in the work of education. By knowing how to practice autosuggestion consciously it is possible, in the first place, to avoid provoking in others bad auto

Listen to episode 113 of the Inspirational Living podcast: The Majesty of Calmness. Adapted from a book of the same name by William George Jordan.Motivational Podcast Excerpt: Hurry is the deathblow to calmness, to dignity, to poise. Hurry means the breakdown of the nerves. It is the royal road to perpetual worry. Everything that is great in life is the product of slow growth; the newer, and greater, and higher, and nobler the work, the slower is its growth, the surer is its lasting success.Mushrooms attain their full power in a night; oaks require decades. A fad lives its life in a few weeks; a philosophy lives through generations and centuries. If you are sure you are right, do not let the voice of the world, or of friends, or of family swerve you for a moment from your purpose. Accept slow growth if it must be slow, and know the results must come, as you would accept the long, lonely hours of the night — with absolute assurance that the heavy-leaded moments must bring the morning.Let us as individuals bani

Listen to episode 108 of the Inspirational Living podcast: Tao Te Ching. Edited and adapted from Dwight Goddard’s translation of the Lao Tzu’s classic book Tao Te Ching.Spirituality Podcast Excerpt: The Tao has three treasures which it guards and cherishes. The first is called compassion; the second is called economy; the third is called humility. A person who is compassionate can 'be truly brave; a person who is economical can be truly generous; a person who is humble can become a useful servant.If we discard compassion and are still brave, abandon economy and are still generous, forsake humility and still seek to be serviceable, our days are numbered. On the other hand, if we are truly compassionate, in battle we will be a conqueror and in defense we will be secure. When even Heaven helps people it is because of compassion that she does so.My words are very easy to understand and very easy to put into practice, yet in all the world no one appears to understand them or to practice them. Words have an anc

Listen to episode 106 of the Inspirational Living podcast: Is There Life After Death? Edited and adapted from “Does the Soul Exist After Death?” by Swami Abhedananda. Spiritual Podcast Excerpt: From ancient times there have been thinkers in India who denied the existence of the soul after the death of the body. They are known as Charvákas. They believe that the body is the soul, and that the soul does not exist outside of the body, and that when the body dies, the soul is also dead and gone. They believe in nothing that cannot be perceived by the senses. The followers of such thinkers are spreading very rapidly, and their number is increasing every day. They are now known as atheists, materialists, etc. According to this class of thinkers, those who believe in the existence of the soul as separate from the body, or in a life after death, are ignorant and superstitious fools, while those who follow their ideas are clever and intelligent beings. Most of them hold that there is no such thing as a soul. No argume

Listen to episode 99 of the Inspirational Living podcast: Inspirational Quotes & Meditations On Life. Edited and adapted from The Meditations by Marcus Aurelius.Self-Help Podcast Excerpt: What can shake your belief in the goodness of humankind? The cruelty of others? Remember that we have come here for each other, and that people act out of ignorance. Have mercy on them. Have faith. Everything happens within a larger Order. You will find this to be true if you watch the world carefully. Don’t look at things the way wrong-doers do. Don’t look at things as wrong-doers want you too, either. Instead, strive to see things in truth, as they really are. Never value the things that will force you to lie, lose self-respect, hate, or deceive. Whoever values peace of mind and the health of the soul will live the best of all possible lives. Oh, how peaceful it is to stop looking at what our neighbors say and do and think, and simply strive to bring our own lives into alignment with truth and kindness. Let us live sim

Listen to episode 94 of the Inspirational Living podcast: How to Be Self-Confident (Overcoming the Confidence Gap). Edited and adapted from Psychology & Higher Life by William McKeever, published in 1905. Self-Development Podcast Excerpt: The self-confident person, of necessity, believes in other people. Old as I am, it stirs me up to put forth greater effort to have people believe in me. The ordinary little child will do their utmost to come up to the standard fixed for them by the expressed opinions of their elders. The self-reliant person, therefore, is a benefactor of his or her associates. It is such an easy matter to drift down to the level of a gossip, and later to that of a defamer of character, and finally to that of the chronic misanthrope. If one goes about looking for the meanness in other people's character, you can surely find it. But so can you find the good — more of it than you can enumerate in a lifetime. Happy indeed is the individual who has formed the habit of looking for the good

Listen to episode 93 of the Inspirational Living podcast: How to Be Successful & Influence Others to Succeed. Edited and adapted from The Majesty of Calmness by William George Jordan. Inspirational Podcast Excerpt: In every moment of life, we are changing to a degree the life of the whole world. Every person has an atmosphere which is affecting every other. So silent and unconsciously is this influence working, that we may forget that it exists. All the forces of Nature — heat, light, electricity, and gravitation — are silent and invisible. We never see them; we only know that they exist by seeing the effects they produce. In all Nature, the wonders of the "seen" are dwarfed into insignificance, when compared with the majesty and glory of the "unseen". In a thousand ways, Nature constantly seeks to lead us to a keener and deeper realization of the power and the wonder of the invisible. Into the hands of every individual is given a marvelous power for good or for evil — the silent, unconsci

Listen to episode 92 of the Inspirational Living podcast: Mental & Physical Fitness: Get Fit, Motivated & Inspired. Edited and adapted from Assuming Responsibilities by Douglas Fairbanks. Motivational Podcast Excerpt: The person who rises in the morning from a healthy slumber and plunges into the bath after some vigorous exercise is prepared to undertake anything. Their world seems fair, and though the sun may not be shining literally, it is to all intents and purposes. Thus, they go swinging along with a cheery smile, carrying the message of hope and joy to all those with whom they come in contact. Of course, mental fitness is equally important to physical fitness. And the character of a man and woman expresses itself by the books they read. Every well-informed person since the invention of the printing press has been a close reader of a few books that stand out from among the many. We read of Lincoln devouring the few books he had over and over again and studying from cover to cover and word for wor

Listen to episode 80 of the Inspirational Living podcast: Do Your Best & Love Much. Edited and adapted from The Pathway of Roses by Christian D. Larson. Spiritual Podcast Excerpt: We have looked far and wide for the remedies to our problems, but in our search we have overlooked one of the greatest of all; and that is love. Not the love of the person; not mere sentiment or emotion, but that strong, spiritual feeling that makes every atom in your being thrill with the purest sympathy and the highest kindness; and that makes you feel that every creature in existence deserves your most tender care and attention. When everything goes wrong with us, we blame fate, environment, or the world. We forget that the world does to us what we have done to the world. When we blame the world for everything, the world will so act that it is to blame; but when we love the entire world with our whole heart, the world will change toward us accordingly and be kind. When you do not succeed, when no one seems to care for your se

Listen to episode 79 of the Inspirational Living podcast: The Healthy Benefits of Aging (Aging Well with Grace). Edited and adapted from Essays of an Optimist by John William Kaye. Inspirational Podcast Excerpt: One of the great advantages of age is that we are not wont to disturb ourselves by doing things that we do not like, simply for the look of the thing. There is absolute misery in pretentiousness of all kinds, and youth is infinitely more pretentious than age. There are some people who never outlive their vanity; but, as a general rule, it may be maintained that the longer we live, the less we care what others think of us, and the less we strive after effect. We learn, in time, how little we can ever know, and how ridiculous we make ourselves by pretending to know everything. When we have learned to say, "I am as ignorant as a child on this or that subject" or, "as powerless as a baby to do this or that thing," we have mastered one of the great difficulties of life; we have entered upon

Listen to episode 78 of the Inspirational Living podcast: Awaken the Sleeping Giant (The Power Within). Edited and adapted from New Thought Healing Made Plain by Kate Atkinson Boehme. Motivational Podcast Excerpt: The human being has always had many hitherto undiscovered powers, the horizon of the Impossible continually receding as we advance upon it. Let your limit line of belief, separating the possible from the impossible, be to you like the horizon line, which is really no line at all. It is merely where your sight stops, and depends upon the point where you stand. Advance and your horizon moves with you, showing a beyond not before visible. Someone else may tell you that your ideals are impossible to realize. This I also deny, for I know beyond all doubt that nothing is impossible that your mind can fashion or your heart long for. The impossible is only that which you fail to reach by stopping at the fatigue point because your mind is weary of waiting and hoping, and stops short of the ''Second W

Listen to episode 77 of the Inspirational Living podcast: The Bright Side of Life (Guide for a Rational Optimist). Edited and adapted from Character Building by Booker T. Washington. Educational Podcast Excerpt: If you want to be happy, if you want to live a contented life, if you want to live a life of genuine pleasure, do something for somebody else. When you feel unhappy, disagreeable, and miserable, go to someone else who is miserable and do that person an act of kindness, and you will find that you will be made happy. The miserable persons in this world are the ones whose hearts are narrow and hard; the happy ones are those who have great big hearts. Such persons are always happy. Now, this is not to say, you won’t have difficulties, nor face obstacles and discouragement. You most certainly will. But I would suggest to you that such difficulties, as an element in life, are for a purpose. I do not believe that anything, any element of your lives, is put there without a purpose. I believe that every effort

Listen to episode 76 of the Inspirational Living podcast: How to Be a Well Rounded Person. Edited and adapted from Essays on Work and Culture by Hamilton Wright Mabie. Inspirational Podcast Excerpt: Wherever you may find your place and whatever work may come to your hand, you must always be aware of the larger movement of life which encloses your special task. You must have the consciousness of that central power from which all activities are inadequate manifestations. You must remain open to the whole range of human interests, and never escape the conviction that life is a unity under all its complexities; that all activities stand vitally related to each other; that truth, beauty, knowledge, and character must be harmonized and blended in every real and adequate development of the human spirit. To the growth of every flower, the earth, sun, and atmosphere must contribute. In the making of an individual, all the rich forces of nature and civilization must have place....Support this podcast at — https://redci

Listen to episode 75 of the Inspirational Living podcast: What is Your Ambition? (Finding Your Life's Purpose). Edited and adapted from Personal Efficiency by James Samuel Knox. Self-Help Podcast Excerpt: The individual of definite purpose is the person of conquering spirit. They are the leaders and the molders of our environment. They set the pace for others and point the way. They know which way they are traveling, and why they are traveling, because they have a vision. They can see the end from the beginning, because they have created it in their imagination. Show me a young person who has set their definite mark, who has driven their imaginary stake, who has created within their imagination the position they propose to fill twenty years hence, and I shall show you someone who will work out in real life the pictures they first created in their imagination. But set no mark, dream no dream, build no air castles, have no definite aim, no vision of a larger self and a larger life, and you will be eternally

Listen to episode 74 of the Inspirational Living podcast: Creating Harmony and Success. Edited and adapted from Success Through Thought Habit by Benjamin Johnson.Inspirational Podcast Excerpt: "Secure Harmony First" is the best advice---for where Harmony exists, there can be no nervous tension, sorrow, bitterness, recrimination, resentment, unhappiness, envy, or anger. Instead there will be exemplified peace of mind, health of body, a contented spirit, freedom from want and abundance for all desires. The very word "Harmony" is in itself a marvelous combination of sounds. There is something strangely soothing about it, a hidden meaning that implies far more than the accepted definition of being in accord with things. It seems to hint at latent power. And just as any observer notes that harmonious sounds will control, influence, and uplift an audience, so a truly harmonious personality influences everyone for good and leaves a memory full of inspiration. John Ruskin once said, "Hundreds can

Listen to episode 73 of the Inspirational Living podcast: How to Improve Your Personality (Me Plus You). Edited and adapted from Laugh and Live by Douglas Fairbanks. Self-Help Podcast Excerpt: Nothing brings a greater self-reward than a service done in an hour of need, or a favor granted during a day's grind. The generous person who climbs to the top of the ladder helps many others on their way. The more we do for someone else, the more we do for ourselves. The stronger we become—the greater our influence in our communities. Doing things for others may not bring in bankable dividends but it does bring in happiness. Such actions scorn a monetary reward. We have only to try this out to learn the truth for ourselves. A good place to begin is at home--then, the office, or wherever life leads us. In doing these things we will laugh as we go along—we will laugh and get the most out of living. Our little day-by-day kindnesses when added together constitute, in time, a huge asset on the right side of our ledger o

Listen to episode 72 of the Inspirational Living podcast: The Science of Eternal Life. Edited and adapted from The Philosophy of Long Life by Jean Finot. Educational Podcast Excerpt: Grizzly bears, when they wake after their hibernation, at once destroy their stored up provisions. Without destruction there is no vital creation. Without death there is no life. Organic creation, Life, is unimaginable without the physico-chemical phenomena of destruction. Always and everywhere death and life succeed each other, and mingle in a mysterious embrace. There are as many of the principles of life in death as principles of death in life. We might express their curious intimacy by a formula of the precision of a chemical combination: Life-Death applying to life, and Death-Life summing up the essence of death. The principle of life seems so deeply rooted in organized bodies that it ends up triumphant, in spite of all the obstacles which spring up in its path. There is no death in nature. Its youth is eternal, like its act