Robert Mallon

You are creating a story—everyday!

You create it by the thoughts that you consciously or unconsciously think.  These are the paintbrushes of the canvas of your life.  You are the creator—it doesn’t just happen.

So what is the story that you are creating?  Is it a happy story, or is it bringing you grief and frustration?  Is it a successful story or a sad story?  Is it brave and bold and confident, or is it uncertain and insecure?

You are the author . . .

It’s written by the way that you’ve trained yourself to react to the situations and events in your life.  Those reactions come from your thoughts.

Yesterday, I was working at a business all day coaching.  I needed to be there by 8:30 to get set up and ready to begin by 9:00.

For whatever reason, I was piddling around while at home and let the time slip up on me.  When I glanced at the clock in the living room, I saw that it was already 8:25.  I still needed to pack the car and drive about five or six miles.

I grabbed my briefcase, threw it in the trunk; ran back in the house, and grabbed my cup of coffee.  Ran back to the car—leaned in, and tried to set the coffee in the cup holder in the center console.

Missed it!  Continue reading…

Here’s another way to “plant” the right crops and to rid your mind of the “weeds” that are sure to spring up.

I start each day by putting the final touches on my daily to do list.  It changes everyday, but some things stay the same.  One of the items on my list Monday-Saturday is:

“Read 10″

What that means is I will read ‘at least‘ 10 pages of a good book that day.  Most of the time, I go a little beyond that.  A good book is one that is going to stretch your mind and make you think a little differently.  Currently I’m re-reading the book “Good to Great” by Jim Collins.  I’m doing four webinars on it over the next several weeks, so I need a little refresher.

It’s also okay to read entertaining books along with the good books.  Currently, I’m reading a mystery by Stuart Woods called “D.C. Dead.”  It’s pure entertainment and puts me to sleep at night.  So I usually have two books being read at a time.

Years ago, I heard someone say, “A man who can read, but who doesn’t, is no better than one who can’t.”  Anyone can read 10 pages of a book a day.  Regardless of your busy schedule, you can find the time for 10.  If you just read the minimum 10, that would equate to 60 pages a week or about 270 pages a month.  That’s the length of an average book.  Do that each month for a year, and you’ve read 12 great books.  If you pick the right books, it can, and probably will change your life!!!

Here is a quick list of some of my favorites:  Continue reading…

One of the most impactful books I’ve ever read was a book written by James Allen in 1903 called “As A Man Thinketh.”  The copy I have is 4½” x 6” and is only 72 pages long.  I can tell you that it is such a great book—a classic in fact—that I read it every year whether I think I need to or not.  It never disappoints.

I’d like to share one of the ideas found in the book with you today.

“A man’s mind may be likened to a garden, which may be intelligently cultivated or allowed to run wild; but whether cultivated or neglected, it must, and will, bring forth.  If no useful seeds are put into it, then an abundance of useless weed seeds will fall therein, and will continue to produce their kind.

Just as a gardener cultivates his plot, keeping it free from weeds, and growing the flowers and fruits which he requires, so may a man tend the garden of his mind, weeding out all the wrong, useless, and impure thoughts, and cultivating toward perfection the flowers and fruits of right, useful, and pure thoughts.  By pursuing this process, a man sooner or later discovers that he is the master gardener of his soul, the director of his life.”

My question for you is what, and how are you planting?  What are your techniques for cultivating?  Continue reading…