VAST Possibilities

Don't Forget Saturday!

2007-09-27T10:47:00.000-07:00

Just a reminder for all who wish to be informed about this great story and opportunity:

If you missed the article, read it here:

Justice for All

For more information on Pre-Paid Legal services, click picture or go to my site.

If you are interested in Identity Theft protection, check out the IdentityTheft Shield site.

If you are interested in referring others or developing your own business as a Pre-Paid Legal Independent Associate, go to the

TODAY

2007-08-11T15:46:00.000-07:00

Today

You have today to do, to be, to experience, and to share whatever it is that burns within you heart to do, be, experience, and share.

You have today, and while it may not be enough for you, it is what you have for as long as it lasts.

You have already begun today as you read these words. You have stepped into the stream of life in the division of time that we name as individual days and you have begun to participate in this one day that is absolutely unique, It has never been before and never will be again.

You have it and, if you are like me, you have already wasted part of it.

You will probably waste a bit more, but just thinking about how precious the day really is, you have also already begun to consider how you will make the best of it. You are plotting a course for what you will accomplish and how you will enrich other people because, having considered the remote possibility that this is your only day, you want it to be significant.

You have today - at least part of it because you are already in it. If it should be cut short, you will have lived this day. If you make it to the end, you will have tomorrow. Within one short second of completing a day, we have another.

This is not rocket science. Nor is it breaking news, but it is very, very important.

You see, days tend to slip away and as they slip, they fall into an abyss of neglect and despair. We look back and wonder where they went and wish that we could recapture them and redeem all of our lost opportunities.

We cannot - except in the sense that what we accomplish today can bring meaning to yesterday. We can slowly transform what is lost into something of meaning and hope. It has some of the benefits of time travel without all the messy risk.

TODAY is:

T - Temporal, temporary, and tempestuous. It is fleeting, but it is also unpredictable and partially unknown. All we know for sure is that it will end and that it will move in some way toward our intentions while having a mind of its own and a tendency to surprise us.

O - Our Opportunity to do something about our lives, enrich the lives of others, reinterpret the past, and reinvent the future. It is one of a kind and it is pregnant with possibilities.

D - Definite. We definitely have today, right now to do something. Perhaps this is an incentive to avoid procrastination of that thing that is burning in our hearts. Make the D into a DO and DO the thing that you know you Desire and need to do, that thing that relates to your Dream, that which your fear has prevented until right now.

A - About Attitude. I use the word "attitude" repeatedly in my acronyms, not because I can't think of any other A words, but because it is so crucial to everything about today, tomorrow, and the future. It determines our course; it drives our dreams; it infects our motives; it orients our thinking; it makes us or breaks us. We must see TODAY with an attitude of joy, wonder, optimism, and responsibility as we embrace its power for good.

Y - YOURS! It is yours. What will you do with it?

May your today be wonderful and may you have many, many tomorrows. You do have today. - Tom Sims
The Dream Factory

Don't Give Up ... Today

At this very moment, out of the 1470 people receiving this bulletin, someone is considering quitting.

It is not their job that they are tempted to walk out on, or necessarily their marriage, or anything that anyone will immediately notice. It is something far more important ... their dreams.

Someone is about to give up on their dreams and it will show gradually and in very subtle ways.

They are discouraged and hopeless and the rewards just are not coming from their efforts.

I have one word for you, dear friend, and it is not necessarily brilliant. There will be tomorrow. You will have countless opportunities to quit. Quitting will always be an option for you unless and until you come to the place of deciding that it is not. Here is the word: WAIT.

I am just saying, wait. Don't quit today. Give it another day and get back with me. You have no idea what inspiration, burst of energy, word of encouragement, seed of an idea, or Word from God is right around the corner for you.

You just don't know. You still have some strength; use it to get through the day. you still have some faith; apply it. You still have time; you don't have to quit today.

Down time is OK. in fact, it is sometimes necessary. Down time is waiting time - time to "not quit."

There is always tomorrow to throw away your hopes, dreams, ideas, and the investments you have already made. You don't have to quit today.

Wait.

I know you can do that. While you are waiting to regain your belief in yourself, use a little of mine in you.

Blessings,

- Tom
The Dream Factory

Earl Nightingale - The Strangest Secret

2007-05-20T20:00:00.000-07:00

Success is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal.

Earl Nightingale 1921-1989

This is the "mother of all" motivational talks.

God's First Creation

2007-05-07T10:55:00.000-07:00

If I were to ask you what God made first, you might say, "light" based upon the first chapter of Genesis. However, it does not say that. It says that He made everything in the beginning and that He made light before other physical phenomena, but Proverbs 8:22 informs us of a prior creation that is not as tangible or corporeal.

Wisdom speaks and says, "The LORD brought me forth as the first of his works, before his deeds of old;" (NIV)

God created logic and reason first and then, used that wisdom to fashion a reasonable and rational creation that can be investigated, observed, and celebrated by people He made in His image.

Verse 18 says, "With me are riches and honor."

Everything observable, predictable, and ordered is based upon the genius of God. every principle that works in business, economics, life, science, and human behavior is rooted in His wisdom.

Wisdom is not God; it is the creation of God. To study any discipline of science or philosophy is to study the Mind of God - how He thinks and How He reveals himself.

That is part 1 of Psalm 19, but only part 1. Nature and creation teach us what; part 2, the Word of God, teaches us WHY.

And a WAY without a Y (WHY) is just a WA.

It is not enough to be successful; our lives are only truly fulfilled when they are significant.

How to Have Your Best Year Ever - Jim Rohn

2007-04-28T17:40:00.000-07:00

To order Jim Rohn's Materials:

MP3 Motivators

How Big Is Your God?

2007-03-16T19:29:00.000-07:00

The questions we must ask ourselves in evaluating our possibilities contain some of their own answers:

How big is my God?
How compelling is my dream?
How burning is my desire?
How deep is my commitment?

Check Them Out

2007-03-11T17:24:00.001-07:00

Books and Resources for Personal Development

What To Do If The Dream Is Too Big?

2007-03-09T20:46:00.000-08:00

The question reveals the answer:

Change your thinking, definitions, or upper limits.

The dream cannot be too big, but our thinking can be too small.

What is too big? Too many great dreams have been built from the vision of people who were unlikely visionaries to entertain the possibility of impossibility.

Perhaps we need a dose of practicality from time to time, but that should lead us to strategy and division of labor - not to giving up the dream as "too big."

Keep dreaming.

A Ripple in Time

2007-03-08T07:12:00.000-08:00

I avoided an accident the other day and commented to my passenger that we had just created a ripple in time - a new universe, parallel to our own, without us in it. The theory is that every either or choice creates such a new dimension of reality based upon the millions of choices made every second. So many would be indistinguishable from our own, but this new one, had I not swerved to the right, would have been significantly different as far as we and our families would be concerned.

It is probably scientific hogwash, but it is great science fiction and a thought that propels other thoughts.

What universe of possibilities are you living in?

It is all about your choices. this or that?

You Are a Time Traveler

2007-03-04T17:16:00.000-08:00

If we traveled between dimensions in parallel universes as portrayed in science fiction, we could spend our entire lives in one minute repeated over and over and never exhaust all the possible contingencies of choices and twists and turns in the roads multiplied by an infinite number of factors influencing outcomes. That is the conundrum of choice and the vastness of the possibilities that we can create under God.

It is also the very sobering anchor of our lives. We can only choose one path at a time and we cannot travel between outcomes. We must choose and live with our choices. The only ones we can change are in the future.

As Erwin McManus says, we are all time travelers, but we can only travel forward in time.

A Fine Example of a VAST Possibility

2007-03-03T12:21:00.000-08:00

Moon colony far grander goal than endless shuttle trips

By Charles Krauthammer

WASHINGTON - You might not have noticed, but we broke another space record last month when astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria logged 67 hours of spacewalking. If you consider that the equivalent of the Guinness record for pogo-stick bouncing (23.11 miles in 12 hours and 27 minutes) -- amazing but pointless -- I agree with you. There's nothing quite as beautiful as the space station and the shuttle that services it, and nothing quite as useless. READ MORE.

Valuing What Is Valuable

2006-09-19T20:32:00.000-07:00

Values are not primary in the sense that principles built upon enduring truths are, but they can become more powerful when they are well placed. What we believe is valuable may or may not be so. Therefore, in a vacant value maze, sincere truth-seeking must take the serious student back to solid Source material. Belief-work is potentially long, hard work, sometimes soul-wrenching. However, without doing the work, we deprive ourselves of a solid basis for positive change.

Examine your values and value what is truly valuable.
__________________________________________

The Power of Full Engagement is challenging me and taking me to some new places in how I look at things I already value. I recomend the book.

Workshop Outline

2006-09-07T22:07:00.000-07:00

Values and Attitudes that Stimulate (and Sustain) Transformation

First, there must be a desire for transformation.

Trans - Across -beyond, through. The "trans" in transformation highlights the idea that for change to occur in behavior, barriers must be crossed and movement must take place.
Formation - Something is being formed. A new form is emerging within us. Change is taking place in an intrinsic environment where the roots of change are nurtured and allowed to grow naturally.

There is movement from the head to the heart.
Then there is movement from the heart to the hand (habit and practice).

Without an end-goal of transformation in mind, behavioral change will not take place.

Then, there must be a strategy for stimulation and sustainability of change.

Transformation Stimulated - Consider the strategies, systems, rewards, and patterns necessary to stimulate desire and energy for change.
Sustainability - It is not enough to reach a goal of change once. Transformation requires a re-ordering of factors that reinforce behavior over the long haul.

Environment.
Internal rewards.
External rewards.
Beliefs.

Finally, there must be a coorrelation between values and attitudes as moderated by our beliefs.

Values - Values constitute our responses to truth and principles.
Attitudes - This could also be described as mindset - how we are predisposed to respond rather than to react based upon what we believe about our values and the circumstances of our lives.

ATTITUDE - ATT&T - IT - U - DE

AT&T - Communication and self-talk. We must take control of our internal dialogue.
IT - We have to ask in every situation, "What is the IT of it?"
U - Your attitude is really up to YOU.
DE - We need to DEcide to DEny certain patterns, habits, and attitudes. This includes any number of words that start with DE.

Make it plural with an S for SUPERMAN - How did Superman ever figure out his limits or lack thereof?

If you want this to make more sense, get in touch with me for the full workshop.

The Road to Success

2006-06-05T12:59:00.000-07:00

Co-published in sister blog: Entrepreneur's Table .

The Road to Success

The = Definite article – Indicates something specific. We must be specific about:

T – Time – A goal is a dream with a date on it. It takes time to develop.

H – Hope - If there is no hope, there is no dream, no goal, no objectives, and no action.

E – Expenditure of Energy. Nothing will happen without work.

Road = Indicates process. We must fall in love with the process of moving toward success, not just the outcome.

R = Repentance. The word means change of mind, heart, and attitude. Change is necessary.

O -= Opportunity thinking (as opposed to obstacle thinking. Embrace obstacles as opportunities.

A = Attitude – The way we approach life (attitude) determines the heights we attain (altitude).

D = Destination – Roads go places. Always have the desired destination in mind.

To = A tiny preposition. It denotes direction. Success is gradually, purposefully, progressively, and with determination, moving toward our worthwhile ideals.

T = To as a focus. Focus on where you are going TO, not what you are going THROUGH.

O = Obligatory opposition. You must pass this way and there will be resistance to your success.

Success = “… the progressive realization of a worthwhile ideal” (Earl Nightingale).

S = Settle on your source. Know where your connectedness is.

U = Unleash your inner force. Call upon a strength lying dormant in you,

C = Chart your course. Know where you are going and your game plan for getting there.

C = Consider that the course is a concourse. You are not alone.

E = Enforce discipline upon yourself for your own success.

S = Stay the course. There will be many diversions and temptations along the way.

S = Stay the course (Saying it just once is not enough.).

To Schedule a Workshop, call 559-647-2203 or e-mail tomsims@workshopstogo.com

A New Pattern

2006-06-05T11:57:00.000-07:00

We have a pattern problem. We have developed behaviors that we practice consistently, habitually, and without much thought. We start practicing these behaviors before we crawl out of bed in the morning and condition ourselves to practice them before we lay our heads on our pillows at night. When we realize that some of these behaviors are negative or destructive, we have a battle on our hands removing them. When we determine to introduce positive practices to the mix, we find that there is no room for the old is crowding out the new. The first change is in our attitudes . Then we can address behaviors. We need new patterns. We need to replace old, worn-out,, useless and even harmful behaviors with newer, more nurturing and positive actions. What are the steps?

First, we must make the determination that we are going to introduce change into our lives. This comes out of careful evaluation and resolve.
We must pray for guidance and strength. Our creative God will work with our creative minds to create a new scenario and unveil options we have never considered.
Then, we must do the hard work of being institutional and aware. We must accept that change is awkward and new behaviors may be “forced,” contrived, manipulative, or uncomfortable. We must practice them anyway.
We must repeat the new behavior (which includes avoidance of the old) day after day, keeping some sort of record of our progress.
We must allow grace for the failures and celebrate the victories and patterns begin to change in our lives.

Attend a VAST Possibilities workshop with Pastor Tom

What Are VAST Possibilities?

2006-06-05T11:25:00.000-07:00

VAST possibilities are what you possess.

VAST stands for ....

Values and Attitudes that Stimulate (and Sustain) Transformation

A VAST Possibilities workshop is about creating an interior environment for life change as a precursor to success in many dimensions of life.

To schedule a VAST Possibilities workshop, contact Tom Sims at 559-647-2203 or by e-mail at TomSims@workshopstogo.com .