Valuing Yourself and Your Needs (As a Parent): This is about taking care of your OWN needs as a parent because when you consistently put yourself last to be taken care of and habitually continue to sacrifice your basic necessities to make everyone else happy…Essentially, what you’re teaching your children is that they’re here to be of service to others, then themselves. In other words, you’re teaching them to take advantage of you and use you as they please, which in turn communicates to them that they’re most likely to be used. To prevent this from happening, you need to set consistent limits that protect you from demands that could be overbearing and unfair. That way, you’re communicating that your basic needs are just as important as theirs. It’s true…often times parents that are constantly sacrificing themselves are idealized and praised by other parents. You know… the ones that have no hobbies, no friends and no avenue of enjoyment. Is this really desirable? Parents constantly stressed about the needs of others in the family are usually irritable, and unmotivated to try anything new, fun or exciting. How can parents do this long term with no outlet? Instead, us parents need to enjoy ourselves and focus on being re-energized. When you take good care of yourself, you provide the means to take better care of your children. Going out to dinner or cocktails, trips to the gym 3 or 4 times a week, date night with your spouse or even some alone time reading or going for a walk allows you to be a more productive, interested and patient parent.”

“if you expect to be successful, you will eventually be successful. If you expect to be happy and popular, you will be happy and popular. If you expect to be healthy and prosperous, that is what will happen... Always think and talk positively about the future. Start every morning by saying: 'I believe something wonderful is going to happen to me today.' Then, throughout the day, expect the best.”

“What one great thing would you dare to dream, if you knew you could not fail?”

“Leaders think and talk about the solutions. Followers think and talk about the problems.”

“I've found that luck is quite predictable. If you want more luck, take more  chances, Be more active, Show up more often.”

“Don't fight your thoughts. Allow them to come, but don’t cling to them. The small gaps between thoughts create the power in meditation.”

“It is not failure itself that holds people back; it is the fear of failure that paralyzes you.”

“Optimism is the one quality more associated with success and happiness than any other.”

“Successful people are simply those with successful habits.

“You become what you think about most of the time”

“Almost all stress, tension, anxiety, and frustration, both in life and in work, comes from doing one thing while you believe and value something completely different.”

“Awareness is the starting point of every quest and the outcome of every journey.”

“Develop the winning edge; small differences in your performance can lead to large differences in your results.”

“This is the process of “systematic desensitization.” By confronting your fear, and by repeatedly doing the thing you fear, the fear eventually disappears.”

“Your most valuable asset can be your willingness to persist longer than anyone else.”