You reminded me of one of my favorite Rumi poems:

The Guest House – Rumi

This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness
Some momentary awareness comes
As an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows,
Who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
For some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
Meet them at the door laughing,
And invite them in.

Be grateful for whoever comes,
Because each has been sent
As a guide from beyond.

Peace,
Peter

Such a wonderfully contrarian viewpoint. In today’s world, we’re taught that feelings are to be leveled out, homogenized, anesthesthetized, even though they’re our feedback telling us how we’re doing. Without feedback no adjustment, no learning is possible. I like that last part: “… each has been sent as a guide (teacher) from beyond.”

Great stuff if we can tear ourselves away from our entertainment long enough to pay attention.

And thanks to you, Peter, for all the great articles you send. Always a pleasure reading them, and a privilege publishing them here.

Thanks for all the fabulous news! Can’t wait to see what’s ahead for you now that you’re all supercharged and rarin’ to go!

[Ego Alert: Head-Swelling Stuff Ahead] You are, and have long been, such a tremendous inspiration to us all, Charles. Your warmth, humor, humility, transparency, and ever-unfolding explorations give us uplift and encouragement–because you’re, well, a real guy, all human, just like the rest of us. And gosh, that’s refreshing.

Thanks for sharing all you do. It’s SO fine to have you back!

Aw shucks, ma’am.

How cool your Quantum Cash Pump is on Amazon – I added it to my a-Store as soon as I saw that today.

Glad to hear the angioplasty went well; hubby has been down that road several times. Not fun.

I am still using my copy of Winner Words – if you are still selling it, I’d love to promote it.

Are you on Twitter at all? I’m about to tweet this blog post – hope it gets some new eyeballs to your blog. Yours is one of the few I follow intently.

Ciao for now, and again, welcome back!!!

Hi Janelle, Thanks for your very kind words. Regarding Winner Words, no I’m not selling it at the moment. A new version is actually in the pipeline (which, as an existing owner of the recording, you’ll get a free copy). The re-recording is partly done, awaiting only two more sections, then I’ll be announcing a re-launch of the new-and-improved version. About Twitter, I am on it… barely… but I’m there (as charlesbburke).

Peter

Thanks, Peter. And thanks for continuing to send your articles. I’ve enjoyed them greatly, even though I haven’t been sharing them with BullsEye readers. That’s about to change because now that I’m back, you’re back too.

This is perhaps the easiest form of self-motivation I’ve ever seen.

There have been times in my past when I set up little charts to record my activities and results, and every single time I’ve done that, I found myself becoming more motivated to follow through with the activity.

I noticed that most of your marks are red, with a few blue ones. Is there any significant to the different colors, or was that just whatever pen was easiest to find at the moment?

Yeah, I like simple and easy. That’s why I focused the thing on only one behavior. But since this behavior is building a stronger self-image, the results can compound. Seemed like a useful thing to do. The blue dots were when I used a completely different recording. Sometimes I do that just for variety or to check my response.

This past week, my wife and I were in Japan for a few days. I didn’t take the form with me, but of course I did take along an MP3 player. On our 4th day there, we got busy and I put off listening to the recordings (didn’t forget… just didn’t do it). And the knowledge that, when I got back home, I’d have to leave an entire day blank on the form just galled me. That was enough motivation to make sure it didn’t happen again.

And that’s how it works.

I`m talking about a purpose that gives you happiness today and a reason to do what you do.

Peter, you’re right on point. As much as we both write about motivation, what often goes unsaid is that the goals we choose have got to matter. If they don’t, then we might as well stay in bed and catch up on our sleep.