Sowing Seeds of Purpose

THE NEW AMERICAN REVOLUTION

I received an e-mail that, with the permission of the author, I will answer for the benefit of all of you.

Elbert, I want to begin by thanking you for providing such a positive place to go from time to time (more like every day:), where a person can get away from the finger-pointing of politics, the daily grind of work and the constant negative energy of biased news networks. Though it is our understanding that you were previously famous or had some sort of success in the music business and that you are currently a life coach or teacher of some sort, my wife and I had never before heard of you. Nonetheless, we have become fans of your stories. We enjoy the lesson in each one. A time or two, we had thought of posting a comment and though I really don't know why we haven't yet, we plan to. I guess it is a matter of just getting comfortable with it. The reason for this way too long email, is to ask you this question: What is your purpose for this blog? In other words, what do you hope to accomplish in the long-run? We look forward to your future lessons. Thanks.

Your Friend, James

Let me first say that it is my belief that we are living in a time of what I like to call The New American Revolution. Never before have the words "We the People..." exuded so much personal power for the individual. For the first time in the history of mankind, we have the power to truly influence Corporate America, politics and commerce.

Since the birth of the Internet, We the People can now demand answers to our questions and through communication with each other, we can control the dialog.

Before the creation of social networks on line with blogs like this one, the politicians and big business could force-feed each of us whatever choices they wished. Before there were blogs to focus on personal empowerment such as this one, people in search of self-help would seek-out motivational workshops and motivational and inspirational books and Cd's.

Thanks to the social networks, the big companies now, have to step out of the shadows of their automated customer service, step into the blogosphere and ask, "James, What do YOU want?" or "Elbert, how may I serve you?" 

Until now, big business and big brother have been able to manipulate the quality and quantity of our choices. By keeping us apart, they have overwhelmed us, all the while knowing, that as individuals, we were more inclined to say to ourselves "what can I do? I'm just one person." Not anymore! If together, we stand, but divided, we fall, then the blogosphere has allowed us to share information with each other within seconds, therefore, giving us the power to stand together and speak in one voice. We now have the power to demand change and get it or to demand a better deal and get it.

Notice how the Presidential race has begun so much earlier. They will now have to spend more money and more time addressing the issues that matter to "We the People". They know that if they don't give us what we want and if they don't address the issues that matter to each of us, we will simply enter the blogosphere, discuss the issues with each other, decide what we want and then make our choices free of their influence.

Just look around; companies such as Google, Yahoo, GM and Microsoft, and politicians such as Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are now entering the blogosphere fully focused on our wants and needs.

A wise old friend once told me, "To be an effective teacher, one must also be a hungry student." My purpose here is to sow seeds of purpose while helping you to do the same. Yes, I am here to help you grow so that you may harvest abundance in your life, but understand, I am also here to gain the same blessing from each of you.

I invite all of you to e-mail me and to post your comments. Take part in the Revolution.

God bless

JIM VAUGHN'S GOLDEN RULE

I want to share with you a valuable lesson I learned about 18 years ago from a good friend who also happened to be my 1st music publisher. I included this story in my book Sowing Seeds of Purpose (How to Harvest a Life Abundant), which will be available within days I'm told.

His name was Jim Vaughn and being 65 years old at the time, he seemed to really get a kick out of my youthful ignorance. He nicknamed me "Junior" and would take a great deal of pleasure in teaching me lessons that he claimed would help me to eventually advance to the status of "Senior" in his eyes.

At the time, I was experiencing my first success as a songwriter on country radio and he seemed to feel a responsibility to teach me life lessons that would help me to cope with my success at such a young age (22 yrs. old) and to grow as a human being.

At the time, I felt I was just humoring an old man. It would be later in life, that I would grow to truly appreciate his wisdom. He promised me that the lesson I'm about to share with you would serve me well should I not forget it. He was right and this is why I pass it along.

One day, Jim called and asked me to meet him at a Chevrolet dealership where he was to purchase two new Suburbans. He needed me to drive one of them back to his house. I met him in the showroom where we began to browse while waiting for a salesperson to attend to us. Jim was a simple man from Kentucky and though he was a multi-millionaire, he dressed as if he didn't have a dime to his name. This, coupled with an untrimmed beard and bottle-thick eye-glasses, would certainly give anyone the impression that he couldn't afford much in this showroom.

As we stood talking, several salespeople who were serving no other customers, passed by without so much as a glance in our direction. After about 20 minutes, a young man who had been sweeping the floor took notice and asked if he could help in any way. Jim, obviously a little aggravated by now, thanked the young man and politely gave him permission to continue his work of sweeping the floor.

After another 5 minutes of watching sales people laugh and visit with each other while paying no attention to the two of us, Jim turned and said, "Junior, come with me and pay attention. I'm about to teach you the most valuable lesson you will ever learn. If you will not forget what you witness here today, you will go far in this life."

Jim and I walked up to the counter where he proceeded to ask the young lady to summon the Sales Manager. The gentleman arrived smiling and asked, "Is there something I can help you with today gentlemen?"

"Yes" Jim replied. "I have come to purchase two new Suburbans from your dealership and so far, the only person that has taken notice has been that young man over there sweeping the floor."

The Sales Manager apologized and while waving to a salesman across the showroom, offered to get him immediate service. Jim refused the offer and proceeded to teach us all a wonderful life-lesson.

He said, "Now understand sir, I'm not a spiteful man, but I have an idea of my own. I am still going to purchase the two Suburbans from you today, but only on one condition: I will pay cash for both of them and I will pay full sticker-price, but I want that young man there sweeping the floor to get the commission for my purchase."

Obviously surprised by Jim's request, the Sales Manager replied, "Sir, I get your point and I completely appreciate what you're trying to do here, but that young man is working his way through college cleaning-up around the dealership and is not a salesman. Please understand Mr. Vaughn, that our sales people make their living on these commissions and it just simply would not be fair to them."

Jim replied, "I understand your point as well sir, but if the commissions were all that important to your sales people, they would be more careful not to judge someone by their appearance and be willing to accept what would seem like even a small profit. Sir, this is the only way you will do business with me today and in the future."

Not wanting to lose a sell, the manager reluctantly agreed to Jim's request. I can tell you that everyone at the dealership learned a lesson that day they would never forget and the young man probably made enough money for at least a year and a half's tuition to whatever college he was attending. Jim did pay cash at full sticker price and along with the commission, Jim instructed the dealership to send the rebate checks ($2500 for each Suburban) to the young man as well. That kid was speechless!

On the way out of the dealership, Jim turned to me and while handing me the keys to the one I was to drive, he said, "Junior, always remember what you have witnessed here today and you will never go wrong when dealing with people. Treat every person you meet as if they were a millionaire and you will never have to regret the opportunities that got away. For Pete's sake Junior! Just treat others the way you would want to be treated yourself. It comes down to respect!"

And that's Jim Vaughn's Golden Rule. I hope you will use this lesson to bless your life, as it has mine.

God bless

TIM MCGRAW GETS IT!

I would like to use an interview I recently read on Tim McGraw in the Tennessean newspaper out of Nashville Tennessee as an example for each of us to consider.

Despite 34 million records sold, 26 No. 1 hits and the highest-grossing single-year tour in country music history (with his wife, Faith Hill), Tim remains insecure about his music.

Now, for those of you who are not aware of my history in country music, I'll share a mini-bio. From the latter part of the 1980s up until retirement in 2004, I was a professional songwriter (with No. 1 hits that include, "Sticks and Stones" and "Can't Break It To My Heart" by Tracy Lawrence) and recording artist for Broken Bow Records.

I'll make this the end of my bio for the moment, due to the fact that it's real easy to find biographies and other information on my musical career on the Internet. I only share this little bio so you'll understand how I come to personally know Mr. McGraw.

Since my purpose here is to educate and inspire personal growth, you will find that I not only use myself and my life experiences to teach the lesson, but the life experiences of those individuals I have known over the years. It just so happens that a lot of my lessons were learned in the entertainment industry. Now, back to Tim McGraw.

I have known Tim since 1991. We were introduced by my friend and writing partner Tracy Lawrence. Upon first meeting, Tim and I became friends and writing partners as well, and I will tell you that he was and is the most humble, unassuming individual I have ever met. He was and is, a kind, generous and loyal man. And not just to his friends and family.

If you were to ask him why he is so insecure musically, he would tell you, "I want to get better. I feel like I am just now getting a handle on everything. I just now sort of (halfway) know what I am doing. I'm about 30 percent as good as I want to get."

Can you believe this? A superstar insecure about the music that has sold more than 34 million Cd's. Anthony Robbins (author of Awaken the giant within) would say that Tim is a prime example of someone who is in a state of CANI (constant and never-ending improvement).

With all his success as a singer, songwriter and music producer (he co-produced much of his own music, his wife Faith Hill and Jo Dee Massina), Tim has also expanded his horizons into acting with appearances in 2004's Friday Night Lights, this year's The Kingdom with Jamie Foxx and his first leading role in 2006 in Flicka. With all this fame and fortune, you would guess that it would be very easy to become arrogant, conceited and complacent, but not Tim McGraw.

Can you believe this madman actually believes he has room for personal growth? Can you believe that Tim still feels the need to earn his paycheck as if he could be fired? Why doesn't he just kick his feet up and enjoy the fruits of his labor? Why does he still feel the hunger for the acceptance of his peers and the "fans" when introducing new works? After all, he has more money than anyone could spend in 5 lifetimes and he obviously has nothing left to prove to anyone.

The reason he still pursues growth and the reason he still feels the pressure to produce quality art is simple; HE GETS IT!

Mr. Tim McGraw understands that as long as we exist within this universe, we have the capability and in fact, the responsibility to grow beyond our current state, no matter what state we have progressed to. Tim believes as myself, Anthony Robbins and so many other masters do; that we have a responsibility to our eternal existence, to seek constant and never-ending improvement.

There is nothing that inspires me more than someone who, no matter how educated, successful and wise they have become, still seeks personal growth. Now I'm not trying to promote a negative, ungracious attitude of enough is never enough. I want you to be gracious in all your growth and success, but continue upward and onward. Always seek another level of success and awareness. Always seek new knowledge, more wisdom and another mountain to climb.

Just imagine what would've happened if people like Bill Gates, Donald Trump, Benjiman Franklin and Thomas Edison, to name a few, had stopped building or inventing once they accomplished their 1st goal or goals. It is vital to your very existence to continue growing, building, reaching and climbing. In fact, your pursuit of constant and never-ending improvement is vital to the existence of the universe and all who live within.

Tim gets it; do you?

God bless

PS. My wife's grandmother crossed over Saturday afternoon. It was truly an awe-inspiring experience. Thank you all for the e-mailed prayers and well wishes. We all felt your love.

THE GIFT OF SACRED IDLENESS

Work is not always required....there is such a thing as sacred idleness, the cultivation of which is now fearfully neglected.

George MacDonald

I share this quote from the book "Simple Abundance" A Daybook of Comfort and Joy, by: Sarah Ban Breathnach

You will find that I will often reference this book. This is due to my need to remind myself to remain aware of the simple abundance in my own life, so that I don't let the pursuit of goals over-take me.

This week-end my wife's Grandmother begins her journey home. Over the past few days, she has described the most beautiful place filled with loved ones that have gone on before her. It's as if they have come to help ease her transition. She has asked her grieving children and grandchildren to "Please, let me go!"

We have all promised to do just that; let her go. We know this is natural, but it is still hard to do, as it is just as natural to be selfish and want her to stay against the wishes of God, her loved ones waiting on the other side and her failing body.

Now, she waits peacefully and patiently as those at her bedside and those of us who can only be there in thought, try not to let her see or feel our sadness, so as not to spoil her joy.

Her passing serves as a reminder to me, that so many things I give such great urgency and importance to, will only one day lead to my own transition. I'm sure that all that Grandmother once deemed urgent, valuable, and so important, has only come to pale in comparison to this wonderful new, and yet familiar journey.

As for me, today I will appreciate the gift of sacred idleness. I want to just simply be with my Mother, my wife, my children, my siblings and my dearest friends, if only in thought. There will be no work or worries today. Yes, today I will just be.

God bless

THE WISDOM OF A DUMB 'OLE DOG

There are lessons to be learned in all things and I want share one that comes from the most unlikely source; a stray dog.

In our neighborhood, there's a dog that doesn't seem to belong to anyone and yet, we all feed him, so I guess you could say he's the neighborhood pet. I used to get irritated at him always stopping by the house and eating the food that I would leave out for my cat, "Gus". He was friendly enough, and always seemed quite gracious for the free meal.

It wasn't until one day last summer that I began to appreciate our little stray dog. I had just gotten off the phone after spending almost two hours listening to someone complain about lack of success and how they deserved better results out of life, when the dog showed up looking for Gus's leftovers.

This just happened to be one of those days when Gus had cleaned his dish, so the little dog was out of luck. Now normally, I would have gone in the house and found a little something for him, but this time, I was a little pre-occupied and it didn't cross my mind. This didn't seem to upset the him in the least. In fact, after discovering that the dish was empty, the little fellow made his way over to me with his tail wagging and sat at my feet. He let me rub his head for a few minutes before continuing on to what I assumed would be the back door of the next house on the block, where I'm sure he hoped to find a little food leftover from their pet.

Usually, I didn't give much thought to this little stray, but today was different; for some odd reason, I felt guilty that I had let the dog leave without feeding him and even though Gus was not to be fed again that night, I filled his dish in hopes that the dog would return to eat.

The dog did not return that night, but in his absence, I experienced a sort of awakening. I sat on my back steps thinking of how gracious the dog had been. He didn't whine or bark about their being no food and though he was smart enough to know that I was the server, he didn't harass me one bit to feed him. Instead, he actually wagged his tail as if he were still happy to see me. It was almost as if he were somehow letting me know that he still appreciated the previous meals or maybe the meals to come. Amazing!

If I didn't know any better, I would be inclined to think that the little dog actually understands the value of sowing seeds of purpose. We all could stand to take a lesson from this dog. Obviously having no one place to call home, he goes through the neighborhood from house to house receiving whatever is available. If his belly happens to get full at the first stop, then he's done for the day or for that particular meal. If one house does not provide enough, he doesn't whine or complain or stop and wait until someone thinks or cares enough to feed him, he moves on the the next opportunity.

What I really like about this dog, is that, if you happen to be near, he will actually take a moment to visit and share some goodwill. What this does for those of us who have the power to feed, is to win our favor, so that we may tend to become more sensitive to his needs the next time around. I know this is how he has affected me. In fact, upon talking to a few of my neighbors, they agree that his gracious demeanor has inspired them to be more aware of the time of day he is subject to visit and they, just as I now do, make it a point of having a little something for him.

In life, whether it be personal or professional, we should strive to be more like the stray dog. If one person or one opportunity doesn't provide all we need, take a moment to be grateful for the previous blessings and then move on to the next. None of us appreciate an individual that we have shared our time, money and opportunities with, only to have them scowl at us the first time we are temporarily unable to fill their bellies. How generous are you going to feel toward this ungrateful person in the future?

By not hanging around complaining or whining about his empty belly, the dog instead, gave a gift of affection and gratitude, insuring that he would still be welcome upon his return and then he simply moved on to the next opportunity. This attitude not only kept him welcome at our back-doors, but his graciousness has actually inspired those of us capable of filling his belly to go out of our way to do so.

I especially like this attitude in a sales person. If you are one, think about this story the next time you are dealing with either a previous client or a new one. Whether you make the sell or not, be gracious and thank them for their time and consideration or thank them again, for previous business. This will keep the door open for the next pitch. If you display a gracious demeanor, leaving them feeling unpressured and appreciated, they most likely will go out of their way to make a purchase from you in the future.

I used to refer to our stray dog as, "A dumb 'ole dog", but not anymore; it turns out that the dog is actually more savvy than a lot of us.

God bless

YOU'VE HAD IT ALL ALONG

Too often we spend a lot of energy seeking the very thing that resides within us. We run around with great urgency trying to find the "love of our life" before it's too late. With great urgency, we chase our fortunes, all the while fearful that if we don't get it now, it may come so late in life that we will be too old and ill to truly enjoy it.

Throughout most of my 20s, my friends and business associates referred to me as, "Urgent Elbert". This was due to the fact that I was constantly in a hurry for everything! I was so sure that if I didn't get what I felt I needed right then and there, I would wake-up over night to find that I was 100 years old and too late to etch my mark on the world, which at the time, was the Nashville music scene. I wouldn't take vacations or make the short 3 hour trip to visit my Mother, because I was so sure that the music business would advance without me.

I'm happy to tell you that I'm no longer the "Urgent Elbert" of my youth. I've learned to slow down and take it all in. When we're young, we fly through each day at the speed of light, while the moments, opportunities and lessons blow by in a blur. In our youth, we jerk our heads about like someone jacked-up on cocaine, in search of any sign to read, "All your dreams come true; this way!" We learn later (as I have), that there was never a need to be so urgent. The answers and the directions have been there all along.

We've always had the answers to life's riddles and a road map to whatever destination we chose. We were born with them.

Try this: When you need answers or directions; slow down and don't worry. Just be real quiet and listen to that voice at your center and you will find what you need.

I want to suggest a book that I have found a great deal of joy in reading. I hope you will too.

Simple Abundance (A Daybook of Comfort and Joy) by: Sarah Ban Breathnach

Here's a quote I'd like to share:

Infinite riches are all around you if you will open your mental eyes and behold the treasure house of infinity within you. There is a gold mine within you from which you can extract everything you need to live life gloriously, joyously, and abundantly.

Joseph Murphy

God bless

MY GIFT TO YOU

We all come together here at "Sowing Seeds of Purpose" for just that reason; to sow seeds of purpose. Our purpose here is to share information, wisdom and knowledge and of course, to learn lessons both from ourselves and others, so that we may grow together.

Last night I used six very successful individuals as examples for us to learn from; three of which, experience some very public struggles. This post is of course, for all of us, but I'm sending this out especially for the 3 people in my last post to hopefully help them along their journey.

This is for Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, and "Pacman" Jones.

"INSTRUCTIONS FOR LIFE"

- Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risks.

- When you lose, don't lose the lesson.

- Follow the three R's:

     Respect for self - Respect for others - Responsibility for all your actions

- Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.

- Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.

- When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

- Spend some time alone every day.

- Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.

- Live a good, honorable life, then, when you get older and think back, you'll be able to enjoy it a 2nd time.

- A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.

- In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don't bring up the past.

- Share your knowledge. It is a way to achieve immortality.

- Be gentle with the earth.

- Once a year, go someplace you've never been before.

- Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.

- Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.

- Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.

- ALWAYS be a class act!

Here's a favorite quote of mine:

A person may be said to be successful when he has mastered the purpose of life, fulfilled himself, found identity, achieved self-respect, served his dependents and friends well, supported good causes, developed the ability to keep his commitments, performed socially useful tasks, and discovered the will of God for his brief stay on earth.

William Stuart McBirnie

God bless

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN JOEL OLSTEEN AND BRITNEY SPEARS

What's the difference between Joel Olsteen and Britney Spears? Or, Anthony Robbins and Tennessee Titan's player, "Pacman" Jones? Or maybe even, Oprah Winfrey and say; Paris Hilton? All six are powerful, wealthy, household names, so what makes 3 of these people such extraordinary leaders and pillars in their community, while the other 3 have become known as "poster-children" for the, "We want our money back!" campaign?

The answer is simple; EGO!

Now understand, the point of this post is not to condemn, criticize, or cast shame on anyone. This post is for the purpose of learning from them. In fact, you can learn more from failures (yours and other's) than from successes.

It comes down to the most important question you'll ever ask yourself; "Who am I going to serve first today; myself or others?" Joel Olsteen, Tony Robbins and Oprah Winfrey have chosen to serve others first. These three have obviously discovered the secret to abundance, and I'll share this secret with you now.

The secret to abundance: "In order to get what you want, you must first help others to get what they want. Yes, the one who lives his or her life in the joyful service of others, shall know abundance and know it well."

As you have probably guessed; Britney, "Pacman", and Paris it would seem, have chosen to serve themselves first. Which 3 individuals do you think are the most content at the end of each day?

You will never satisfy the insatiable appetite of the ego, so you must not fall prey to it's hunger pangs.

The ultimate question is; "Is it truly worth living your life in service of others?" Just compare the lives of the six successful people I have mentioned and then you tell me.

God bless

THE BENEFITS OF LIVING IN THE MOMENT

I would like to begin by sending out a big "Thank you" to all of you who responded to my post concerning the attack on "The Secret". I would also like to express my appreciation for the tremendous amount of e-mails from those of you expressing your gratitude for myself and others in the personal-growth industry. Your personal stories of success are what inspire me to get up every day and create. Thank you!

Now, for those of you who do not subscribe to or haven't read the February/March 2007 issue of Scientific American (www.sciammind.com), there's an article called, Why It's So Hard to Be HAPPY, that I would like to suggest you read when you get a chance. The article was written by, Michael Wiederman and I found the studies on happiness to be quite interesting.

For those of you familiar with my teachings, you know that while I encourage goal-setting and building that big picture, I have always maintained that a lot of people tend to tire of their journey much more quickly due to the constant fixation on the pay-off of their ultimate goal or goals. I give examples of this in my book, Sowing Seeds of Purpose (How to Harvest a Life Abundant), which will be available in the final week of March.

The article in Scientific American offers evidence that goal-oriented individuals and positive thinkers tend to be happier. It's obvious, that if you have something wonderful to look forward to, you are going to take adversity a little easier than an individual with nothing to look forward to. The article did however, warn of the danger of crashing or quickly coming down from the high once the goal or goals have been achieved. This is what I try to instill in those I teach.

You definitely want to set and strive to achieve goals, while keeping a clear image of your big picture in front of you, but you are less likely to grow tired and give up out of frustration if you set more immediate, even daily goals for yourself. Think of your ultimate goal or big picture as a puzzle where your dream is to enjoy the reward of seeing it completed. Taking note of and feeling a sense of accomplishment for the daily or more short-term achievements will help you stay strong on course, as you will get to experience some immediate gratification. You should consider your daily accomplishments as collection of the pieces you are assembling to complete the big puzzle of success you are striving for.

In fact, studies have shown that happy people tend to engage in activities that are challenging and absorbing. Such activities dubbed "flow" experiences, force people to focus their full attention on the present moment.

When you stay fixated on the end result or the achievement of your goal, you stand a chance of over-looking a lot of very rewarding more immediate opportunities. You also stand more of a chance of tripping over obstacles as well.

You've heard the saying, "If you can see the obstacles, you've taken your eyes off the goal." This is true, but you don't want to trip over the little insignificant day to day obstacles simply because you are failing to live in the moment, either.

The bottom line here is that studies have shown that there is no evidence to show that wealthy people are markedly happier than unwealthy people. This is because happiness is a state of mind. I personally know folks who are very wealthy and who seemingly have the perfect personal and professional lives, but are unhappy. I also know folks who get up every day, go to work, and come home dirty and stinking to "high heavens", but are nonetheless happy.

I'm going to make a suggestion based on the article on happiness that I think will help all of us maintain balance while we work to make our dreams a reality. This should help you sow some wonderful seeds of purpose and build up your universal account at the same time.

As the article mentioned, people who tend to do what is called, "upward comparison" (who's got what I want or who lives better than me), tend to be generally unhappier. These people believe that the attainment of success will surely bring them happiness.

People who do what is called, "downward comparison" (comparing themselves with those less fortunate), tend to be much happier on a daily basis and especially find joy and satisfaction in help those less fortunate.

This is why I suggest that you and I make it a point as often as possible to get involved and bless the lives of others. You will find great satisfaction in the fact that you have the power to positively influence the lives of others.

I suggest that you also make it a point of setting daily and or weekly goals that when accomplished, will benefit the larger goal or goals. This will serve to bless you with immediate gratification, thus, keeping you energized along your journey.

Basically, none of us are guaranteed tomorrow, so we had better learn to live in the moment. In other words, just worry about accomplishing your "to-do's" for today. If can be successful at achieving todays goals, tomorrow will take care of itself.

God bless

DR. GAIL SALTZ's ATTACK ON "THE SECRET"

As I rarely miss the Today Show, I just happened to be watching the morning Dr. Saltz made negative remarks about the book and movie "The Secret". I was tempted to go to her blog and post a comment in defense, but decided not to.

Being an author, life coach and teacher in the personal-growth industry ( Dr. Saltz and some others call it self-help), I must admit, I too can tend to get slightly offended when psychologists, medical doctors and scientists try to disqualify all individuals in my profession. Look, I'm not here to condemn Dr. Saltz or anyone else who shares their personal and/or professional opinions about the science of positive thinking or the power of positive living; I would just like to add a few thoughts of my own.

First of all, there are literally millions of people (myself included), who have been inspired by "The Secret". I think it is only natural that some people would feel slightly offended that Dr. Saltz or anyone else would just assume that we may be so backwards as to be harmed by positive suggestion. If anyone would care to do a little research, they might be surprised to find that quite a few of us so called, "self-helpers" are very educated AND successful. In fact, for a lot of us, the study of teachings by the likes of Norman Vincent Peale and Dale Carnegie, to name a couple, have been an overwhelming factor in our success and mental and spiritual well-being. I can assure you this has been the case for me.

I don't have the statistics to support this statement, but I'll bet that more people have experienced greater psychological and physical healing, experienced happier and healthier relationships with their spouses and children, achieved greater financial growth, donated more money and just made greater contributions in general, to the world we live in due to the teachings of people like Anthony Robbins, Joe Vitale, Bob Proctor, James Ray, Dale Carnegie, Norman Vincent Peale, Jack Canfield and Zig Zigglar, to name a very few.

In fact, it hasn't been that long ago that the medical profession prescribed treatments such as shock therapy for something as simple as depression.

I for one, am encouraged by the fact that we are becoming a more can-do, positively motivated society who seeks to self-help instead of lying on a couch for analytical therapy at the first sign of adversity.

There's nothing wrong with seeking the wisdom of those who have gone before you. It would seem like the wise thing to do.

As for Dr. Saltz and others who seem a little fearful of the personal growth industry; there are still those who do need true medical solutions. We're just helping those who can and want to help themselves.

God bless