What If Up?

by Martha on July 1, 2010

Every now and then, I will meet somebody so compelling that I just can’t wait to blog about it.

That happened when I met Mindy Audlin.  For those of you who have never heard of her (I hadn’t), she wrote a book called What If Up.

It has the most beautiful premise I have ever heard.

I’ll summarize:  Think about your dream.  You know, the one thing that you would like to follow that  makes your heart sing?  Now, think about why you haven’t followed it.  Could it be that when you verbalized it to someone else you heard comments like, “What if it doesn’t work out?”  or “What if you don’t have what it takes?”  or “What if you lose all your money while trying to do it?” or the biggie: “What if you fail?”

Get the picture?

The “what if’s” can be sort of strong.  And, those are just the ones from family and friends.  That’s not including the ones you say to yourself.  “What if it’s not a good idea?”  “What if I’m not smart enough?”  “What if it ends up being the biggest mistake I ever made?”

Well, Mindy Audlin’s here to tell you that you are what ifin’ DOWN.  Yep, you are taking yourself right down into the depths of negativity that can stop any creative idea from leaving the nest.

The new plan?

It’s simple.  What if up?  You take your wonderful idea and say, “What if it’s the best idea I’ve ever had?”  or “What if this idea will help millions around the world?”  or “What if this idea is the goldmine I’ve been waiting for?” or “What if everything turns out beautifully?”

Do you see the difference? Already, your whole attitude has changed.  You are in the positive.  And, you are getting on the track to taking action and making that idea take root, taking that idea to the next level, creating a positive environment so it can grow and become something awesome!

Just writing these words puts me into an uplifting mood!  What if this blog becomes a place people congregate for inspiration?  What if one person reading this decides to make a change?  What if there is a bigger purpose for this blog than what I see now?  Holy cow!  I’m on a roll!!

Mindy Audlin is going places.  I feel it.  Her positivity is contagious!  And, I want to help!

She is currently in the running to convince Oprah to let her have her own show on the new OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network).  It is my opinion that Mindy is needed.  For her positive attitude.  For OUR positive attitude.  For the WORLD’s positive attitude!  How’s that for an endorsement?

You can help too.  You can click here and give Mindy a vote to help Oprah make the right choice.  You can also join me and my good friend, Maggie Miller tomorrow afternoon, Friday July 2,  at  1:oo p.m. CST as we interview Mindy about her book, her life, the Oprah audition, and of course a few examples of the “what if up” phenom.  Click here to join us!

Let me know what you think.

What if hearing the interview with Mindy changes your life forever?  What if?

Peace,

-Martha

p.s.  What if you send this blog post to somebody who needs a little positivity in their life?

p.s.s. What if?

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Fear of Success vs. Fear of Failure

by Martha on June 2, 2010

Fear of success or fear of failure.

Does it matter?  Either way, you are stopped in your tracks.

By your own self!

There comes a time (or many!) that it happens to all of us.  That fork in the road.  The questions start to loom.  Is this the right direction for me?   Should I stick with the “known”?  What’s wrong with the way things are? Who do I think I am anyway?  And the all time favorite:  What will people think?

The bigger question is always how will it change my LIFE?

Of course, we never really know the answer to that until we go forward.  The only answers we have are the fictional ones that play with our heads.  My thought is that your life will change, no matter what.  If you go forward or not.

Why?  Because that’s the way life is!

It doesn’t matter if you sit still or go forward, changes are coming!  I can assure you, if you don’t persue whatever it is you are contemplating, the “what ifs” will always be talking to you.  What if I had gone another direction?  What if that was my destiny?  What if that really was a golden opportunity?  What if I had only (you fill in the blank)?  Seriously, the “what ifs” can get you.  Right in your gut.

The only thing you really fear is the unknown.

You always have two choices.  To sit on the sidelines, play it safe with what is already known, or to go with your inspiration, reach for the new adventure, and strive to attain a bigger goal. That’s it.

The hesitation comes in the beginning.

Stop it.  Unless you are getting a very REAL feeling that what you are about to do is just simply wrong, wrong, wrong (and I stress, do not ignore this type of feeling!) then step out.  It may seem like a full-fledged leap but in reality, it’s just the next best step.  Ignore the hesitation that says you can’t handle success or you don’t want to fail.  You will never know unless you go for it!

The best part of “going for it?”

You will always know. There will never be any regrets.   Because you tried.  Trying is the mark of confidence.  I know, at the point of hesitation, confidence seems to wain, but in the long run, your confidence will be strengthened because you overcame your fear. And the “what ifs” will go play with someone else!

I still say you don’t have to identify whether it’s fear of success or failure.  It could be both!  No matter.  Walk over  the fear.  You can analyze the “why” later!

Peace,

-Martha

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Happy Birthday!

May 28, 2010

They say it’s your birthday!  Yes, today is mine.
We all have that special day and we should embrace it!
It means we have lived on God’s green earth another wonderful year!
Today, I am giving gratitude for everything that’s happened in my life over the last year.
That probably means YOU!
If you started reading this blog this year, [...]

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The Full Moon and You

May 27, 2010

There’s a full moon tonight.
I enjoy that phenomenon  in nature.  The moon lights up the night and is soooo beautiful!
Of course, there’s alot of folklore surrounding the occurance of full moons.  Supposedly there’s more of everything on that night.  More romance, more babies born,  more creativity stirred up. It could all be true.  Of course, [...]

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What Inspires You?

May 24, 2010

What inspires you?
That’s the question being asked daily on the “Get Inspired Project.”
Is a compilation of interviews being conducted over one year’s time of people from all walks of life.  Asking two questions:  What inspires you? and Who do you inspire?
Ever thought about it?  That’s really a pretty thought-provoking question. It’s easy enough to name [...]

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Got 15 Minutes?

April 29, 2010

Recently, I was in a group of people and we were listening to a would-be writer lamenting about how she had always loved to write. She felt like it was her passion.  However, she wasn’t  doing it!  At all.
Does that ring true with you?
If you love creating something, what’s stopping you?
Fear?  Frustration?  Anxiety?
Only you can [...]

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Happy Earth Day!

April 22, 2010

Happy Earth Day!
Celebrated in over 190 countries, Earth Day is a day to increase our awareness of our environment and celebrate what we can do to make it a better place for all.
No matter if you think global warming is fact or fiction, today think about this planet we call home.
In the real estate business, [...]

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From the Challenge to the Goal

April 20, 2010

In case you’ve wondered where I’ve been, I accepted a 30 day blog challenge and I have been writing away on one of my other blogs! I committed to writing a blog-a-day for 30 days at MarthaGiffen.com Sooo, I have somewhat neglected ThinkandMotivate!
However, today, as I was writing on my other blog, I realized [...]

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Expecting

April 9, 2010

Remember in the old days, how pregnant Mom’s were said to be “expecting?” It meant they had a baby on the way.
Expecting means a sure thing. Like, pregnancy definitely meant a baby
What are you expecting? What exactly are you looking forward to and just know-without-a-doubt that it’s going to happen?
My hope [...]

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Say YES!

April 7, 2010

Did you know that opportunities are coming your way on a consistent basis? 
You may not always recognize this. Opportunities sometimes come disguised as a chance meeting, an unexpected phone call, an unusual offer. And, usually those opportunities are accompanied by questions.  The main one is “will you?”
Whatever the opportunity, there’s always two [...]

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