Mikes Blog

Inspiration and humility
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Work yourself into a heated state of inspiration. Then splash yourself with the chilled water of humility.

Yes, you can dream big and you can make progress in the direction of those dreams. Yet doing so requires a healthy and persistent dose of reality.

Humble yourself in the presence of your own aspirations. Dare to dream and humbly acknowledge that your dream demands a massive amount of hard work and time.

That’s a powerful combination. Your dreams will keep you motivated while your humility keeps you honest and disciplined.

You’re fully capable of great achievement, but it’s not because you’re the greatest achiever who has ever lived. It’s because you have the opportunity of doing the often tedious work, day after day, year upon year, to reach your goal.

Envision the highest and best, then temper that vision with humility. For that’s precisely how you make it come to life.

— Ralph Marston

THE DAILY MOTIVATOR
Wednesday, September 11, 2024

Wondrous reality
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Nothing can fully substitute for firsthand experience. Nothing can equal the value of face to face interaction.

It can be less time consuming and more convenient to engage in life’s activities from a distance. But don’t fool yourself into thinking you’re getting the full experience by doing so.

An ultra high resolution video of the ocean projected on a massive screen can be stunning. Yet you will not feel the wet sand under your feet or the salty breeze against your face.

Virtual and vicarious encounters have their place. Even so, they are no match for the richness and depth of reality.

You deserve the real things, in your experiences, in your relationships, with your senses. The profound truths of your existence, embodied within all of existence, are composed of more than mere information.

Know yourself and your world not just as concepts, but as solid and interconnected manifestations of wondrous reality. Get real, be real, live real, and experience the fullness of your miraculous being.

— Ralph Marston

Open to wonder
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The world is full of wonder, your life proceeds through constant wonder. The wonder exists everywhere, all the time.

When you let go of your fears, of your preconceptions, you see the wonder. Allow it to inhabit your core, and live the wonder.

Right now, you can open yourself to wonder. It takes nothing more than to just let it be.

You strive to obtain this or that, to journey here or there. Yet where you came from and where you go, in what you have and in what you lack, wonder abounds.

Whether you’re feeling joy or discouragement, frustration or enthusiasm, wonder abides quickly within reach. In all that happens, in all that is, be open enough to look deeply enough, and you’ll see wonder looking back at you.

True wonder pervades all you are and all you can be. Give wonder a place to reside in your awareness, and let its magic unfold.

— Ralph Marston

Potential value
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You experience darkness so you’re able to appreciate the value of light. You feel fear and it prompts you to call forth courage.

Hardship is a burden but not your enemy. Your enemy is indifference, and the challenges, the pains, the struggles render indifference impossible.

Beauty and possibility call to you, but all too often you fail to hear. Yet life’s difficulties cannot be ignored, and they are what can force you to care.

They sharpen your skills, increase your wisdom, focus your efforts. And thus engaged, you do notice positive possibilities, you do advance beauty, meaning, and fulfillment.

It is by experiencing the difficulty of your efforts that you understand their power. In the pain is not just the gain, but also the awareness that gain is possible.

In every twist and turn of fate, you can find potential value. Always be eager to do the work that brings that potential to life.

— Ralph Marston