Inspirational Living: Life Lessons For Success & Happiness

Listen to episode 71 of the Inspirational Living podcast: Discipline Your Mind with The Power of Self-Discipline. Edited and adapted from How to Develop Your Will Power by Clare Tree Major. Inspirational Podcast Excerpt: Self-control is emotional control. Like all forces inherent in human nature, the emotional forces work equally thoroughly in either direction, as builders or as destroyers. You are, whether you like it or not, dealing with forces, with laws, with energy, which must expend themselves, must carry out their predestined mission — forces as blind and as inevitable as the forces of electricity or the laws of gravitation. You must either be hurled to destruction by them, or you must control and use them. You cannot escape them. They are part of your nature. The more vital and intense your nature, the greater your possibilities of power. The fact that you are awake enough to be interested in self-development is sufficient proof of your own possibility of superseding in development the masses which ma

Listen to episode 70 of the Inspirational Living podcast: The Keys to Success & Motivation | B.C. Forbe's Manifesto. Edited and adapted from The Keys to Success by B.C. Forbes. Motivational Podcast Excerpt: Nobody can hand you a ready-made key to open the door of success. You must fashion your own key and find the combination of the lock for yourself. No magician can waft you to the heights of fortune and fame. You cannot fly there on the wings of an airplane. The road, often rocky, has to be traversed on foot. You, and you alone, can supply the motive power. You, and you alone, must put forth the necessary exertion. No one can remove from your shoulders the burden of the effort. You must do your own climbing. Nor are there any mystic short-cuts. The full distance must be honestly, even painstakingly traveled. While there are no escalators to the hilltop of success, and while every man and woman must do his and her own climbing, yet there is a right road to travel, and it all depends on you....Support

Listen to episode 69 of the Inspirational Living podcast: The Optimist's Guide to Living the Philosophy of Optimism. Edited and adapted from Helen Keller’s essay on optimism. Inspirational Podcast Excerpt: Although there are still great evils which have not been subdued (and the optimist is not blind to them), we are yet full of hope. Despondency has no place in our creed, for we believe in the imperishable dignity of every man and every woman. History records humanity’s ascent. Each halt in our progress has been but a pause before a mighty leap forward. Our present time is not out of joint. If indeed some of the temples we worshiped in have fallen, we will build new ones on the sacred sites, loftier and wiser than those which have crumbled. If we are losing some of the heroic physical qualities of our ancestors, we shall replace them with a spiritual nobleness that turns aside wrath and binds up the wounds of the vanquished. All the past attainments of humankind are ours; and what’s more, their day-dream

Listen to episode 67 of the Inspirational Living podcast: Leadership, Character & Democracy. Edited and adapted from a speech by Teddy Roosevelt. Motivational Podcast Excerpt: It is not the critic who counts; not the one who points out how the strong person has stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the men and women who are actually in the arena, whose faces are marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strive valiantly; who err; who come short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming. These are the brave souls who actually strive to DO the deeds; who know great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spend themselves in a worthy cause; who at the best knows the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if they fail, at least fail while daring greatly, so that their place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/inspirational-livi

Listen to episode 66 of the Inspirational Living podcast: The Way of Wonder. Edited and adapted from a classic book of essays by Stephen Paget. Educational Podcast Excerpt: This much I remember of Aristotle, that he calls Wonder the beginning of the love of Wisdom. To have a right judgment of our surroundings, we must wonder at them, and be surprised that they and we are met together. So long as we exercise this quickening sense of wonder, there is hope for us, and some justification of our presence here on earth---because we all are on the road that leads toward wisdom. And they alone are incorrigible fools to whom Nature comes natural. Once we have fallen into the bad habit of taking for granted what Nature gives us, and have ceased to be amazed, it may be fairly said that in the midst of life we are in death. For one might as well be dead as alive, to look with dull eyes at the world, not finding it wonderful....Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/inspirational-living/donationsAdvertising Inqui

Listen to episode 65 of the Inspirational Living podcast: How to Stop Worrying (Start Living Anxiety Free). Edited and adapted from: Your Right to Be Happy by Frank & Marion Van Eps.Self-Help Podcast Excerpt: You might be ready to embark on a new enterprise, but your imagination conjures up all sorts of obstacles and difficulties, and you are afraid to begin, lest you fail. But this is, actually, just where the turn of success is made. Daniel Webster, when he first started in his career as a lawyer, felt as if he were utterly incompetent and could never succeed. But he persevered and did not run away or give up, and he eventually became one of the most famous American statesmen of the 19th century. Had he yielded to that feeling of fear, he would never have amounted to anything; but having overcome that, all things were set in his favor.On the eve of any great achievement, it is not unusual to feel the most like a failure or that your goals are unreachable. It is this point of apparent collapse that is so

Listen to episode 56 of the Inspirational Living podcast: The Magic of Possibilities (Thinking Big For Success). Adapted from The Power of Purpose by William George Jordan. Inspirational Podcast Excerpt: We are placed into life not a finality, but a beginning; not a manufactured article, but raw material; not a statue, but an unpolished stone, ready alike for the firm chisel of defined purpose or the subtle attrition of circumstances and conditions. It is only what you make of yourself that really counts. You must disinfect your mind from that weakening thought that you have an absolutely predetermined capacity, like a freight-car with its weight and tonnage painted on the side. You are growing, expansive, unlimited: self-adjusting to increased responsibility, progressively able for large duties and higher possibilities as you realize them and live up to them. You should feel this sense of the limitless — physically, mentally, morally, spiritually. There is none so obscure that they cannot make the lives of t

Listen to episode 50 of the Inspirational Living podcast: The Power of the Eternal Now (Living in the Moment). Adapted from How to Stay Young by Christian D. Larson.Spiritual Podcast Excerpt: The forces of the mind will create and express every quality or condition that is held in consciousness. This is one of the most important of all metaphysical laws, because it is principally through this law that you determine what your personal life is to be.A true conception of time is extremely important in placing the mind in the proper attitude towards the laws that govern your being; and this true conception is based upon the principle that time IS. Time neither comes nor goes. It is the movements of nature that come and go, not time. What we call time is but the now of eternity, and this now is eternally in the now; therefore there can be no passing of time.It is only in the now that you can live. You can live neither in the past nor in the future. You may think of the past or the future, but you can live only in

Today's podcast (Episode 48) is dedicated to Martin Luther King. Many people attribute Dr. King with establishing the concept of the arc of the moral universe. But it actually was derived from a sermon by 19th century Unitarian minister Theodore Parker, whose works MLK read and admired. This particular sermon dealing with justice and the moral universe can be found in the book 10 Sermons of Religion by Theodore Parker, from which today's podcast has been adapted. Spiritual Podcast Excerpt: I find that justice is the object of my conscience, fitting that, as light the eye and truth the mind. There is a perfect agreement between the moral object and the moral subject. Finding it fits me thus, I know that justice will work for my welfare and that of all humankind. Look at the facts of the world. And you will see a slow but continual and progressive triumph of what is right. I do not pretend to understand the moral universe. The arc is a long one; my eye reaches but a little way. I cannot calculate the cu

Listen to episode 42 of the Inspirational Living podcast: What Do You Live For? Adapted from the book New Thought Common Sense and What Life Means to Me by Ella Wheeler Wilcox. Inspirational Podcast Excerpt: Everything comes when we are fully ready. The law never fails. You may believe yourself worthy of better things than what has fallen to your lot, but there is some reason, some cause in yourself, if you have not what you desire.If you encounter people who are disagreeable, be so agreeable that you force them into a pleasant mood. Bring out the best in everybody by giving them the best that is in yourself. The poet Madeline Bridges put this great truth into the simple words: "Give to the world the best you have, And the best shall come to you."Just so sure as you live these lines, so sure shall be your reward. But to do all this you must be ALIVE: Alive every hour of the day, and all of you (brain, soul and body) must be alive. Once you roll the stone away and come forth, alive, you will vibrate at

Listen to episode 41 of the Inspirational Living podcast: How to Think & Grow Rich Without Money. Adapted from the work of Orison Swett Marden. Motivational Podcast Excerpt: We assume importance and become a power in the world, just as soon as it is found that we stand for something; that we are not for sale; that we will not lease our ideals for salary, for any amount of money or for any influence or position; that we will not lend our name to anything which we cannot endorse. The trouble with so many people today is that they do not stand for anything outside their vocation. They may be well educated, well up in their specialties, may have a lot of expert knowledge, but they cannot be depended upon. There is some flaw in them which takes the edge off their virtue. They may be fairly honest, but you cannot bank on them...Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/inspirational-living/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Listen to episode 40 of the Inspirational Living podcast: The Duality & Rhythm of Life. Adapted from the Kybalion, published in 1912 by the Yogi Publication Society. Spiritual Podcast Excerpt: The Principle of Polarity, as taught by the ancient mystics, was that everything is dual. Everything has two poles. Everything has its pair of opposites---and that "opposites" are really only the two extremes of the same thing, with many varying degrees between them. Where does darkness leave off, and light begin? What is the difference between Large and Small? Between Hard and Soft? Between Black and White? Between Sharp and Dull? Between Noise and Quiet? Between High and Low? Between Positive and Negative? The Principle of Polarity explains these paradoxes, and no other Principle can supersede it. The same Principle operates on the Mental Plane. Let us take a radical and extreme example—that of Love and Hate, two mental states apparently totally different. And yet there are degrees of Hate and degrees of L

Listen to episode 39 of the Inspirational Living podcast: How to Change Your Life Around. Adapted from a 1952 lecture by Neville Goddard. Podcast Excerpt: As an individual, you move and live in time, but your true being is in eternity. Think of the vertical line of the cross as the line of being upon which there are unnumbered levels of awareness. Time cannot make you better or wiser. In fact, time cannot do a thing towards changing your level of being, for change is all on the vertical line where you move to higher or lower levels of your own being. Because change is imminent, we speak of it as infinite imminence---as nearer than near and sooner than now. The person you would like to be is imminent: is nearer than near. The ideal you dream of being is sooner than now and is brought into being by a change in your reactions to life...Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/inspirational-living/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/priva

Listen to episode 35 of the Inspirational Living podcast: The Power of Spiritual Meditation. Edited & adapted from The Way of Peace by James Allen. Podcast Excerpt: Spiritual meditation is the pathway to Divinity. It is the mystic ladder which reaches from earth to heaven, from error to Truth, from pain to peace. Without its aid, you cannot grow into the divine state, and the fadeless glories and joys of Truth will remain hidden from you. Tell me that which you most frequently and intensely think about (that to which, in your silent hours, your soul most naturally turns), and I will tell you to what place of pain or peace you are traveling, and whether you are growing into the likeness of the divine or the mundane...Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/inspirational-living/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Listen to episode 34 of the Inspirational Living podcast: Cheerfulness: The Benefits of Smiling and Laughing. Adapted from The Optimistic Life by Orison Swett Marden. Podcast Excerpt: No matter what your work may be, learn to find happiness everywhere. The love of cheerfulness can be cultivated like any other faculty — and in practical life, it will be worth more to you than a college education with-out it. This is wealth that all can accumulate — the wealth of joy. No matter how hard your lot, how dark the day may seem, if you work a little good humor into it, it will lift your life above a humdrum existence. If you manage to get in a good laugh during the day, your work will not seem nearly as hard. It will relieve the grind and dreariness. A dull, serious mood all day will not only make you very uninteresting to others, but it makes your own load heavier. A good laugh does away with cares, worries, doubts, and relieves the great strain of modern life....Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/inspi

Listen to episode 30 of the Inspirational Living podcast: How to Be Calm, Cool & Collected. Adapted from a Harvard lecture by Dr. George Lincoln Walton. Podcast Excerpt: We live in an age where discretion is the better part of valor. The person who exercises this discretion is less at risk for harm, but does not see so much of life as the more forceful individual. It is true that the hypochondriac is prone to live longer, but what a life! The time has past when the young child can say, "And if I die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.” Now the prayer is more like this: "Don't even mention death to me or I shall lie awake all night!" Today’s parents are raising children in ways that bring into prominence the little worries; that cause the tempest in the teapot; that bring about the worship of the intangible, and the magnification of the unessential. If we had lived in another age, we might have dreamt of the eternal happiness of saving our neck, but in this one we fret because s

Listen to episode 27 of the Inspirational Living podcast: How to Build Better Life Habits (Getting Unstuck). Adapted from book The Mind & Its Education by George Herbert Betts. Podcast Excerpt: Building better habits will require something of heroism on our part. For to follow the well-beaten path of custom is easy and pleasant, while to break out of the rut of habit and start a new line of action is difficult and disturbing. Most people prefer to keep doing things as they always have done them, to continue reading and thinking and believing as they have long been in the habit of doing, not so much because they feel that their way is best, but because it is easier than to change. Hence the great mass of us settle down on the plane of mediocrity, and become "old fogies." We learn to do things passably well, cease to think about improving our ways of doing them, and fall into a rut. Only the few go on. They make use of habits as the rest do, but they also continue to modify them at critical points o

Listen to episode 25 of the Inspirational Living podcast: How to Succeed in Anything. Edited and adapted from Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill.Podcast Excerpt: Persistence is an essential factor of success in life. And the basis of persistence is the POWER OF WILL. Will-power and desire, when properly combined, make an irresistible pair. People who achieve great success are sometimes known as ruthless. Often they are misunderstood. What they have is will-power, which they mix with persistence, to insure the attainment of their objectives. Most people are ready to throw their aims and purposes overboard, and give up at the first sign of opposition or misfortune. Only a few carry on despite all opposition, until they attain their goal: the Steve Jobses, the Andrew Carnegies, the Mahatma Gandhis, the Thomas Edisons. While there may be no heroic connotation to the word "persistence," the quality is to the character of a person what carbon is to steel....Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/

Listen to episode 24 of the Inspirational Living podcast: The Power of Words. Edited and adapted from The Mental Cure by Warren Felt Evans. Podcast Excerpt: Words are the index of character. They enclose within them our thoughts, and the tone with which they are spoken indicates the state of our affections. The utterance of a single word can reveal the love, fear, or hate that lurks within it, and, as such, our life and character are laid open to public view. By the effect of our words, others can perceive the cause. The heart is the fountain; words are the stream. If the fountain is clear as crystal, the issuing spring will be the water of life....Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/inspirational-living/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Listen to episode 22 of the Inspirational Living podcast: The Book of Tea | Zen & The Art of Tea Drinking. Edited and adapted from The Book of Tea by Okakura Kakuzō. Podcast Excerpt: There is a subtle charm in the taste of tea which makes it irresistible and capable of idealization. Western humorists were not slow to mingle the fragrance of their thought with its aroma. It has not the arrogance of wine, the self-consciousness of coffee, nor the simpering innocence of cocoa. Samuel Johnson draws his own portrait as "a hardened and shameless tea drinker, who for twenty years diluted his meals with only the infusion of the fascinating plant; who with tea amused the evening, with tea solaced the midnight, and with tea welcomed the morning. Teaism is the art of concealing beauty that you may discover it, of suggesting what you dare not reveal. It is the noble secret of laughing at yourself, calmly yet thoroughly, and is thus humor itself—the smile of philosophy. All genuine humorists may in this sense be c