Inspirational Thought for the Day w/ Dan O'Connor

Are you struggling to find meaning, or learn a lesson from some tragic event or difficult person in your life?There is a lesson in every struggle we've had, or tragedy we've been through, but most of us struggle with identifying the real lesson. In today's inspirational thought for the day, Dan gives you the five principles that all real LESSONS have in common:
1) It’s about you
2) It’s positively phrased
3) It’s true for everyone
4) It’s true all the time
5) It’s a simple truth that explains many things.
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So many people we know are living lives filled with misery and suffering. What they don't realize is, that they are investing in misery and suffering. It is a universal law that what you invest in shows, and what you focus on grows. In today's podcast, Dan helps you see what you're investing in, and not investing in, so you can cultivate what you really want in your life.
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If you're dealing with difficult people or difficult situations, remember that people act differently in the light. It is our job to be the light that casts out darkness. Whether you're engaged in professional communication training, self-development, or learning to deal with energy vampires, you must remember the principle that light casts out darkness, and you must be that light. Today's podcast helps you remember and work with this principle.
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You know how we tend to get it backwards most of the time? Well, one way we tend to get it backwards, especially in our personal relationships, is focusing on form rather than substance. We focus on the form love takes in our lives; the form abundance takes in our lives; the form God takes in our lives. The important thing is not the form, but the substance. Today, Dan's inspirational thought for the day clarifies this idea.
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It's a basic when it comes to professional communication training or professional development of any kind: How you do anything IS how you do everything. If you'd like a better career, a better relationship, a better home, or a better car, you have to start by asking yourself, "What am I doing with what I have? Am I honoring what I have and making the most of it?" Remember, the universe has eyes, and the universe is self-organizing, and it is an impossibility that you will graduate from your current situation and upgrade to a better one if you're not already making the most of what you have.
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What if the Wicked Witch of the West was actually right? What if she was simply misunderstood, or framed, or set-up? What if you knew this to be the truth, learned she was a wonderful, innocent person, and knowing this, you were about to sit down and have a meeting with her? How would discovering this truth change your communication style? If we saw the truth of people, we would be compelled to forgive, love, accept, and communicate more effectively with them. In our professional relationships and romantic relationships, we tend to get distracted from truth by facts, forget our communication training, and react to the illusions that are in front of us. Today’s podcast can help.
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The foundation of any communication training course dealing with personal or professional relationships is knowing that you are in charge of every relationship in your life, and it is only what you are not giving that can be missing from any relationship in your life. If you are struggling with negativity in the workplace, dealing with difficult people, romantic relationships, or just need some communication advice, this communication podcast can help.
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I was just delivering on-site communication training and a funny keynote in Memphis, and while I was there, I noticed that the H1N1 (or swine flu) vaccine is available everywhere. This is not, however the biggest health crisis most of us have to worry about. This is not the biggest communication challenge most of us deal with in the workplace. What we should be worrying about is swine attitude. You know, that negative, sick attitude that makes professional communicators behave more like a bunch of pigs wallowing in the mud. Our attitude is, of course, the number one thing that effects our professional communication, our personal communication, and our lives in general. Today, Dan the communication trainer, author, speaker, and energy vampire slayer, gives you a tip to help strengthen your attitudinal immune system and defend against swine attitude.
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There is a line in A Course in Miracles that reads, "I do not perceive my own best interests."
Basically, we think and think about how to fix our lives, and unfortunately, the source upon which we're drawing, namely our mind, is flawed beyond belief. Our mortal mind is made up of all our past experiences here in the physical plane, where we are bombarded with illusions, and we have delusions that we somehow gained truth from our mortal experiences. This is insanity. What we should be drawing upon for inspiration is the universe, God, the Holy Spirit, Jesus, Buddha, or whatever your source is that provides enlightenment. It's as if we have a rice bowl in our brains, and we search it for answers, but it has the same rice in it today that it had in it yesterday.
Through meditation, you can empty our rice bowl a little so that your source can put something new in it that will truly provide enlightenment, truth, and answers to the questions you seek. This is impossible to do if your rice bowl is already full.
Today Dan talks about how to empty your rice bowl--just a little--to allow room for enlightenment.
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So many of us go through our lives throwing out words without realizing the power of those words. Our words change other people, the world, and most importantly, our words change us and who we are. It only takes a few words to tear people down and shatter them, and it only takes a few words to build people up and strengthen them. You can either resurrect people or murder people with your words. Today you have a choice which one you do.
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Last week, our episode was about imagining the possiblity that things are OK even though they might not appear so at the moment. Today, Dan talks more about this. Remember when someone like your father held you, and you knew that things, if even for just that one moment in time, were OK? You knew it, because thigs were OK in that moment. Why? Because you were in your father's arms. You're still in those arms, you know. Don't you know that? If not, listen up.
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Have you been abandoned, or scarred by someone, and you're struggling to get over it? Do you have a sacred wound that won't seem to heal? Are you harboring anger and resentment, and having trouble letting go of something that you know you need to let go? Dan O'Connor, The Energy Vampire Slayer discusses abandonment, and how we can start healing any sacred wound we are carrying.
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When you're dealing with difficult people, communicating at work, or communicating with your loved ones, don't let facts get in the way of the truth. Remember that people say and do hateful, hurtful things. That's a fact. We're all doing the best we can with what we've got. That's the truth. Today, Dan gives you thoughts to help you prevent letting facts get in the way of that truth.For more, go to danoconnortraining.com and enjoy our other communication resources, or ask us a question.

I'm sure you've heard the line, "Happiness is a Choice." What a bunch of hogwash, right? As Victor Frankl said, "Life does not owe you happiness. It does, however, offer meaning." Today while you're communicating with difficult people, or struggling with any relationship, communication, or iife issue, remember that the point isn't to be happy; it's to find meaning.
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“But I’ve sacrificed so much!”How often do you say or think this? “I’ve sacrificed so much for you, I’ve sacrificed so much for this...I DESERVE...”What does that even mean? Sacrifice?I thought I’d look it up.In the Oxford dictionary, sacrifice has many definitions...the first one is “The act of giving up something valued for the sake of something else more important or worthy.” The second definition had to do with slaughtering an animal, and I hope you’re not doing that. The third had to with an act of prayer, the fourth was Christ being crucified (which might be how you feel, but it’s far from reality), and the fifth definition I found particularly interesting: “In games, a loss incurred deliberately to avoid a greater loss, or to obtain a compensating advantage.” I’m going to say that most of us, when we sacrifice, are defining sacrifice either the first or the fifth way. Basically, we’re either giving up something good in hopes of getting something better, or we’re playing a game, or both. None of these definitions states that we WILL be getting something in return, or deserve anything in return. None of them. “Sacrificing” is a gamble, and you don’t deserve anything in return.The only example I’m aware of-- where people selflessly sacrifice—just might be for their children. That’s about it. We go without, and give up things so that our children can have better lives. But even that is something we do because we want to be good parents. This type of sacrifice doesn’t give us heartburn, because we don’t feel we must get something in return.What most of us do, however, is give something up, whether it’s our time, or our money, or satisfying some need we have, and then we expect something in return. And boy do we get mad if we don’t get what we “sacrificed” for. We get mad when we give up one thing, hoping to get something better—something we think of as more valuable—and then we don’t get it! Our children don’t graduate from college, though we sacrificed all those trips to pay for school. Our husband leaves us, after we sacrificed and paid for his law school education. We took care of aging parents, who then left the bulk of their estate to the church. OUR SACRIFICE WAS IN VAIN. Yes, it was. The bet didn’t pay off. We didn’t get the “better thing” we were trying for.In our relationships, for example, we tend to give things up, such as other relationships, our time, our youth, or whatever else we think we give to people, and then we have...take a breath now...expectations. That’s where the trouble begins. We expect and even demand the payoff for our “sacrifice.”We tend to (what we refer to as) sacrifice out of self-interest, and when we don’t get our reward, boy do we get mad. That’s ridiculous.
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Have you declared what your purpose is, or are you waiting for something or someone to pick you up and bring you to your destination? Today, your mission is to declare that you are here about your Father's business. When you communicate with customers, when you are at the grocery store, when you are dealing with difficult people, remember that the spirit, or the force, or that universe, or whatever doesn't just pick you up. You hail it. Today you have to declare your purpose and get on the bus. Dan explains more in today's podcast. Tell us what you think! Participate! Visit danoconnortraining.com to leave your comments and suggestions, or email us at dan@danoconnortraining.com

There are certain words that are more than just bad words or offensive words; they are words of death. They have been used to fan the flames that have killed people, and continue to kill people. Words such as the N word or the F word. We need to start making delete phrase lists, and on those lists we need to write the words that we vow to never speak again--these words of death. A truly powerful communicator should definitely have a list of words that he or she can confidently refer to when saying, "I don't use that word." If you haven't done so, Dan helps you get started in today's podcast. For more communication training tips, videos, audios, and thoughts of the day, visit danoconnortraining.com, or email us at dan@danoconnortraining.com. Make sure to stop by and leave your feedback!

It seems as though more people than ever are feeling powerless these days. Moving mountains is nothing compared to what you can do. We are forgetting and ignoring the power that we have, therefore our personal power really is diminishing. In today's podcast, Dan reminds you of the power within, and helps you connect with it. For more, visit danoconnortraining.com, or email us at dan@danoconnortraining.com.

Do you ever think or say something like, "I'll just put it in God's hands"? Well, you can't do that. God has put whatever it is you're talking about in your hands, and has told you to deal with it. Remember that every person you're dealing with is a perfect teacher who showed up to teach you the perfect lesson at the perfect time. There are no givesies-backsies--the lesson is yours, and was designed just for you. If you're struggling communicating or dealing with difficult people, instead of asking God to take it into his hands, what you should be asking for is God to help you see the situation differently. It's in YOUR hands, and you hands are enough.
For more Something to Think About with Dan O'Connor, check out danoconnortraining.com, or email us at dan@danoconnortraining.com.