I would like to share a story of how Gratitude and Guidance play into our lives…

It was almost a decade ago but I can still remember it because it was a wake-up call for me.

On that particular day, my beloved wife was feeling a bit down and out of sorts. So while I was out at the store I saw the November copy of Oprah Magazine and I bought it for her thinking it might cheer her up a bit…

Little did I know, as usual something way smarter than me was guiding my actions.

For three days in a row, I too had been facing massive challenges. These challenges came in a wide variety, ranging from character attacks, professional attacks, to a personal journey back to my emotional childhood in which I questioned the very value of the love I offer. To say the least, it was a tough week! At one point I was in deep pain and although I knew it was emotional, my physical heart hurt. I gave my wife the magazine and went about my day.

A little later that morning, I entered my office and saw that my beloved wife had taken a page out of the Oprah Magazine I had bought her and clipped it up on my computer. I would like to share with you what it said about gratitude.

“Gratitude comes easily when our lives are in order-when the bills are paid, the children are behaving, our health is good. But our challenges are what bring the chance for transformation. And it is for our deepest pain that we can be most grateful, because we know our hardship will deliver a lesson that refines our character. As you practice gratitude this month, give thanks not only for what you have but also for what you have escaped. When difficulties arise, ask yourself, “What is the lesson for me in this?” And when you can give thanks in the midst of your trial, know that are becoming your finest.”

~OPRAH MAGAZINE, NOVEMBER 2000

As I sat at my desk, tears of gratitude poured down my face. I became instantly aware of all the things in my life that I had to be grateful for including the amazing woman I am blessed to call my wife.

On the surface, it’s easy for people to judge me as a tough guy. I lost my boyish looks during a rock-climbing incident in 1990 and my muscular body is evidence of my sport of bodybuilding. However, below the obvious, I am a deep thinker, a spiritually centered being, someone who likes a good laugh and despite the exterior, I am a big softy.

It is in these moments of awakening to everything I have to be grateful for that I know my reason and purpose in life.

This article is an except from my upcoming book “Don’t Read This…Unless You Want More Money” due for release in early May 2010.

I look forward to your feedback and comments.

With gratitude,

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You want the competitive edge, right?

We’re not talking about being some cutthroat underhanded shyster.
We are discussing what it takes to…

get the competitive edge in such a way that you not only keep your soul, you honour it!

I’d known Maggie for years, and I’d watched her financially struggle which to me was ridiculous as Maggie is an extremely talented individual.  One evening a few of us were grabbing a bite to eat and a couple of drinks. No one was drunk however, the beverages were lubricating the lock on the vault of where Maggie kept some of her truths. We were laughing and joking around when one of our group said to Maggie;

“So, when are you going to hit the big time Maggie?”

Maggie’s response was as honest as it could be, nonetheless, it wasn’t true. “I don’t know, I’m really stuck. I keep doing all the things the guru’s tell me to do, but it’s just not working.”

The person who asked the original question shot back an answer so quickly that it cut to the bone of each of us listening in.  “Well, whatever you’re doing isn’t working.”

It sounded harsh and maybe even a little mean but the fact was, the statement was right on target.

Maybe each one of us is too busy being right to go to the next level in our lives?

This may come as a shock to you however, the reason so many people are dissatisfied with their lives is because they are willing to be satisfied with the crap they have been believing. Put simply: many people can’t be bothered to think about what they’ve been believing. I know it sounds crazy, as most people would say that they think all the time. But do they? Objectively thinking about and examining our beliefs is just too much work for some people.

Strangely enough, those not willing to do this kind of work are all too often the same folks who don’t mind doing more than their fair share of complaining. Our beliefs determine the way in which we react to any given situations, because our beliefs by their very nature are based on history. What that means is most people are re-acting (doing what they always do) based on their history.

Now the question is: Why should you care? Because, the ego-mind which has been running your life says that the future will be the same as the past, therefore there is nothing you can do right now to change things.  The ego-mind likes things to stay the same because that makes them predictable.  Therefore as far as the ego-mind is concerned examining a belief or two is not an option.

And people wonder why their lives seem like  re-runs?  The answer is painfully obvious: Even if the situation is or could be different, we just react in the same old way and turn it into exactly what we expect. Until we are willing to examine our beliefs and rethink their contemporary relevance, we remain victims of our own perceptual history and it’s a history we are, in one form or another, actively creating over and over again.

To truly gain the competitive edge, to take that leap in quantum consciousness, to have wealth mastery in all its forms we must be willing to look at, examine, and admit what we are doing that’s not working!

Please note this is not even for a moment about beating the crap out of yourself for making mistakes. This is about being willing to see what doesn’t work in order to begin doing what does work.

My challenge to you is this…

Are you willing to be wrong about what’s not working?

Because until you are willing to look at and change that, it will continue not to work.

Giving you the competitive edge without losing your soul.

I look forward to reading your feedback and comments

With gratitude,

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From the hallway I could hear the muffled sound of the TV in the other room. Curiosity pulled me into that room to find my mother watching our old black and white set. I glanced at the set where I saw a man I didn’t recognize speaking in a way that commanded my attention.  As compelling as this man was, there was something else going on in that room that had an even stronger pull… my mother.

Looking over at my mom I saw her dislodge her glasses upwards as she wiped a steady stream of tears from her eyes. I had seen my mother cry many times. To be honest at that point in our lives there seemed to be an abundance of reasons for my mom to be in tears, but this was different.

As a ten year old boy seeing my mother cry was something that always disturbed me. I walked over, put my hand on my mom’s shoulder and in an attempt to comfort her I asked what was wrong. Looking up at me, she tried to smile but it clearly wasn’t working. She stumbled for words and pointed at the TV saying: “He’s dead?” I looked back at the set and the powerful charismatic presence of Martin Luther King Jr. rang out like a bell in the fog.

I was a boy living in a ghetto environment of a dirty industrial town in England, I had no idea why my mother would be crying about a man I didn’t think I’d ever seen before. I didn’t recognize him as a movie star, a pop star or even a British politician. Why was she crying? In my boyish naivety I asked “who is he?” My mom said; “that’s Martin Luther King, someone shot him.” I was still puzzled. My mom continued through a flood of tears and said; “He was a great man, and now he’s dead”.

I became fascinated with finding out who this man had been. I asked my uncle who I considered to be the smartest person I knew and he told me of Martin Luther King’s fight for civil rights; how Dr. King had followed Gandhi’s model of peaceful demonstrations. He told me of all the people black and white people alike who had stood by Dr. King’s side for the civil rights of all people.

April 4^th 1968 was the day I not only became politically aware, it was the day something within my very soul was awakened. I began to grasp the difference this man had made, the impact he had left as a legacy, not just for black people but for all people. That day I began to understand that one person can make a massive positive difference. That day as a naive 10 year old I decided that I wanted to have the same kind of massively powerful impact on humanity that Dr. King had had on humanity, including my mother a Jewish woman living in a place that might have been a million miles away.

I of course, had no idea how I could make that difference; and to be honest, it seemed impossible based on the “facts” of who I was and the environment that surrounded me. I just knew that day that something within me had changed and it would never be the same.

Many people have seen Dr. King’s message as a message about freedom for black people. To me, his message was much deeper than color or creed. It was about the understanding that we are all the same, that at a soul level we are all on a journey, and it’s important to remove the blocks to our spiritual, mental, and emotional evolution. Although we may perceive those blocks as being outside ourselves, the truth is that they would all instantly disappear if we would commit to removing the ones on the inside.

40 plus years ago something tragic happened, a great man, a man who will remain a giant, died. I still see some of the injustices he fought against. However, that tragic event gave birth to a flood of awaking and opportunities that has changed the world.

Dr. King’s message is, I believe, even stronger today than it was in the 60’s. Today is Martin Luther King day, it’s a day we can be sad for the loss of a great man, or a day we can rejoice for the difference he made that we benefit from, no matter what our colour or creed is. Martin Luther King the man is gone.  However, I believe it is the strength of our heart’s desire to become the magnificent beings we were born to be that keeps taking this world, (despite what the media feeds us), to a place of knowing, what I believe Dr King was trying to teach us… we are all one. Nothing, and I mean nothing, can separate us from the truth of who we truly are, not racial profiling, not extremists of any colour or religious belief, not even war. Because who we truly are is… A gift!

Remember this always:

You are a gift from the universe, and when you are truly willing to know it, you will become the gift to THE world that you were born to be.

When you let yourself truly know this, then it that moment you are, I believe, keeping Martin Luther King’s Dream Alive

Happy Martin Luther King Day.

Long live Dr. Martin Luther King, in all our hearts, minds, and actions.

Please feel free to reblog and share this post.

I look forward to your feedback and comments.

With gratitude,

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Okay, the party is over and we’re all back at work, now what?

Do we get back in the groove that sets the rut? Or do we set in motion a locomotion of unstoppable resolve?

Now that the door of 2010 has opened do you find yourself hiding in a corner afraid of what’s on the way? Are you there at the brink ready to bolt over the line, feeling your foot come down into the certainty of where you will ride this Tiger of a year, because you have, in advance, taken the time to decide the direction of your 2010 .

Almost everyone gets some level of excitement at the prospect of a New Year, (even if it’s just as a reprieve from the last one). However; entering into anything with merely “hope”, Is a lot less than a plan for success.

What are your Goals and commitments for 2010 ?  Whether your goals and commitments are in the areas of finances, health and fitness, career, or relationships, the question worth asking yourself is: Do you actually want to fulfil yours this year? What if there was a simpler, effortless way to do that?  What if it were as easy as listening to some CDs and writing down your goals? Would you do it?

Before you say it could not possibly be that easy, know this:

You’re Right!

It doesn’t matter how many times you put my Resonating Riches CD program, or EFM Audio Technology or for that matter any program into the CD player, just listening is not ever going to be enough!

But part of what gets in the way of people’s success is that they come to believe that accomplishing goals has to be hard, it has to hurt . However, as thousands have experienced before you, with the right guidance, it could be a heck of a lot easier.

keep reading and you’ll understand how and why…

I want to help you keep your Goals and Commitments this year and avoid the disillusion that comes from setting half-assed goals that don’t really matter, and in fact stand in the way of your complete authentic and joyous success.

As I’ve spoken about in other posts and at some of my leadership programs: It is important to pay attention to our rituals . Much of what we do, we do ritualistically. We do things over and over again and we do them to invoke an outcome . Whether that outcome is a change in our mind state that leads to a hangover or one that leads to greater and greater levels of success , all rituals are about invoking a “preferred state change” either within ourselves or our reality.

There are personal and societal rituals that we make personal. One of those society rituals has been to set “New Years Resolutions .” The purpose of which has been to invoke that “preferred state change” either within ourselves or our reality.

Sadly, all too often many people think that their looks, talents and simply making the resolution will be enough to propel them to higher ground. All too often these are the people whose ”wishful thinking” will have them do little more than splutter over the starter line.

The fact is: Nothing is more common than unsuccessful individuals brimming with talent.

If you have ever set a New Years Resolution or Goals or you know people who have, you are probably wondering: Why do so many people fail when it comes to fulfilling their Goals and New Years Resolutions?

The #1 Reason: First and foremost without even realizing it… Most people are setting goals that are not their own!

I can not make this more simple and I know it seems obvious: Whatever goals or resolutions you set for 2010 make sure they are your own!

Quite simply, take a minute or two and really question your goals… Are they really about you, (who you really are)?  Or are they the goals you are setting in order to be liked a little more by your brothers, sisters, friends, bosses, peers, or even mom and dad?

(By the way, to your ego mind approval is golden, so anyone’s approval will do).

The fact is, anyone can come up with a set of goals that sound right. But it’s worth checking with yourself to truly find out if they are goals aimed at getting approval rather than truly making you happy.

If you are unconsciously setting goals that are not in resonance with who you really are, you are likely to find a way to not reach them or at the very least sabotage the process of reaching them.

A few years ago I was working with a guy we’ll call Paul. Paul at that time was a successful corporate Vice President , who had a goal to buy a particular model of a new Mercedes .

I helped him to get absolutely clear on the specifics of what he wanted: model, year, color of both the exterior and interior and many other details that would make it absolutely real for him. By the time we were done, he could describe the exact sound the air made as it left when the car door closed.

Paul’s ’goal’ was to get the car by March 1st. This was something that was a stretch, but with everything in place it was definitely doable.  March 1st came and went, as did the entire month, and then April and May. When I asked him why he thought he had not manifested what he wanted, he gave me a long list of what he called ‘reasons’ and I called ‘excuses’.

My statement to him was that ‘it’ (the car), clearly didn’t matter enough to him. If it did, he would have done whatever it took to have gotten the car. Paul wanted to argue about it, until I asked him the question I’m now asking you:

Who’s approval do you make up you will get by achieving this goal?

t was like I’d slapped Paul in the face with a wet cod . He was stunned by the list of names that fell out of his mouth. There was a guy at work who had made a snide comment about how he thought Paul was doing better than to be driving what he was presently driving. There was his dad, who had always wanted a Mercedes but had never been able to afford one. There was even some woman he had the hots for ten years ago; she thought Mercedes were sexy.

Do you get it?

Sure, Paul ‘liked’ Mercedes and he certainly wouldn’t mind driving one. But, in truth, there was no genuine passion there ; it was not something that mattered enough to him. The reason Paul didn’t manifest what he ‘desired’ was there was no personal juice to fuel what it would take to bring that thing into his life.

Paul, like most people, had unconsciously set a goal that was more about ‘what other people would think’ than it was about what he truly, soulfully wanted .

If you’re on a few “Self-Help” lists, you’re probably getting a lot of input on how to ‘properly’ set goals for 2010. I am sure they are all full of great stuff, but here are the basics: It is important to have a goal written down. Goals in your head tend to mutate into things that, A) we will never reach or B) we’ll just settle for.

In the words of Mark Victor Hansen (co-author of the “Chicken Soup for the Soul” series)

“Don’t Just Think It, Ink It!”

Listen, this coming year, I predict , will be a defining year for so many people. I believe It will be a year where you will need a better plan, more commitment and a heck of a lot more flexibility . For that reason it is equally important to make your goals and resolutions totally and absolutely have deep personal meaning . When you make that goal or resolution, be specific!

Go into the details , get all your senses involved … What would it look like , sound like, smell like, taste like, feel like to touch , and most important of all what would it feel like, to have ‘it’ in your life?

Whatever your goals are, ask yourself:

• What would my life look like having met this goal?
• Having met this goal what do I hear around me?
• What do I smell?
• What is the taste in my mouth?
• What am I touching now that lets me know I have fulfilled the outcome of my goal?
• What does it feel like to know I have become what I had a goal of becoming?

Now that I’ve given you some of the reasons why so many people fail at achieving their goals , let’s get into the next powerful tip that make achieving your goals a certainty:

Take out a sheet of paper, (I find there is a deeper emotional connection when we write by hand).

Write down as many reasons as you can about “why” you deeply want this specific goal.

What is it that makes having this in your life so important to you?

If you can’t get emotionally charged by what it is you are going for, chances are you will find a way to NOT get it!

It is this directed emotion that sets up the quantum resonance wave that draws to you every opportunity to fulfill your desire . The drive to keep going, to accomplish your goal or resolution is not in the thing itself, it’s the “reasons why” that will power you through the obstacles, (and make no mistake, there will be obstacles.)

Whether it’s personal , business , health, relationship , make the goal specific, and emotionally charged , because that’s what creates compelling goals that pull you towards what you want and what you want towards you!

Having gone through this Goals Blueprint let me ask you to remember:
Whatever you dream of having in life… more money, more romantic and fun relationships, a booming business or fulfilling career… whatever it is… start your journey today toward making your New Years Goals a reality in 2010.

Start now!

Take out your pen and paper and begin applying what I’ve given you in this blueprint that Makes Achieving Your Goals a Certainty .

Hey, if you enjoyed this post or other posts re-blog it, share it with others or you can subscribe at the top of the page and feel free to send friends here too.  Please leave me your comments and feedback below.

I look forward to seeing you in 2010.

With Gratitude,

Dov…

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