It’s been a tradition in our family for as long as I can remember, that when you see the first star of the night, you make a wish. This wish is to be kept secret and is not to be shared with everyone, otherwise, you wouldn’t get the wish.

The same thing happens on birthdays. You know how this works! You bake a cake, put some candles on the top, light the candles and tell your child to make a “what?” You tell them to make a wish and blow out the candles!

People make a wish as they blow the seed flurries from a dandelion.

Some people make wishes every time they see a falling star. My wife taught me one that I encourage every man to take advantage of…..with every tunnel you pass through, give your wife a kiss, and of course , make a wish.

There are a ton of examples out there and everyone has their own special “Make a Wish” traditions. These traditions are passed from generation to generation as if they were of some unknown or astronomical value. Heirlooms worth thousands and thousands of dollars get sold off before “Make a Wish” traditions are dropped or forgotten.

So what’s the big deal? Why do we teach our children and grand children these things? Why is it so important?

It’s simple…..We are teaching our children to NEVER… STOP… DREAMING!

Every one of us were born into this world, curious, inquisitive and ingrained with the natural ability to dream and create. We, as adults, play a very small roll in keeping these types of traditions alive. Once you teach a child how to dream and wish, with every opportunity to do so, they will make that wish. They will continue to dream. Children keep the dreams in all of us alive and well. You can’t look at a child without wondering what they will create in their lifetime, who they will be and what they will become.

I’ve seen situations in which parents destroy this very important attribute in children with their negativity and lack of compassion. Instead of encouragement, they give disappointment and despair. To look into a child’s eyes after they have been informed that their dreams will never come true is one of the most heart breaking occurrences. I wouldn’t wish that upon any child or their parents. Yet I’ve seen it happen. It’s sad and pathetic.

That’s what happens when a tattered, broken soul meets a naive, dreaming soul. So many people can make that transition. One bad experience or one failure can cause someone to stop dreaming…to stop making those wishes. In being a creature of habit, instead of keeping the habit of dreaming alive, they adopt the habit of disappointment and attempt to ingrain that habit into every person they come into contact with…and that includes children.

If our children stop dreaming, what kind of a future could we possibly build? What kind of a future could we build if we stop dreaming?

I encourage you to not only keep these traditions alive and well in your families, and also in your life. Whenever you see a falling star, blow out your birthday candles, blow the seeds from a dandelion, see the first star of the night or pass through a tunnel, make a wish. Start your dreams right there, and then follow through with the necessary actions to bring them to reality. A wish is just a wish without action. It’s better to have dreamed and failed to accomplish that dream than to have never dreamed at all.

Never stop dreaming!

Have you ever found yourself saying, “When I get my tax return I’m going to….,” buy me a new truck, go on a shopping spree, pay off my credit card or even just catch up on my rent or mortgage? If you have, no worries. You’re not the only one. I would say that 95 out of 100 people say that almost every year.

No big deal! That’s the way the system works right? You work a job for the year just making ends meet. You may have some extra to go on a vacation or two, buy your kids Christmas presents and maybe get a few nice things for yourself. But, none of it compares to tax return time! “Man, when my tax return gets here I’m gonna buy this or get that. “

I would have to say, and you should agree with me, that if tax return time is your biggest bonus of the year…something needs to change! You are getting paid to stay right where you’re at, dependent. Dependent on a job that isn’t paying you what you’re worth and dependent on a yearly bonus from your government, for struggling through the last twelve months of barely making ends meet. It’s like giving a lolly pop to a child who only gets one a year. The rest of the year, he’s sucking off the remains of everyone else’s lolly pops.

Look, I only bag on tax return time to make a point here. I encourage you, with all the fiber of my being, to change your thinking. Get out or your comfort zone, step into your creative side and start moving forward in a different direction…a direction that will have you paying taxes at the end of the year because you will have earned the income to do so. Instead of acting like everyone else, step out of the mold. Poor people make money to spend it, rich people make money to invest it, utilize it and to make more money with. It’s a tool, not a gift. When you get the wrench, fix the car. Don’t trade it for a tricycle.

If you think about it, it’s actually a privilege to get to pay taxes, because you know you’re helping the government support a family who needs the fifteen percent raise. Which they’ll need until they change their thinking from spending to investing…investing in themselves.

Now in closing, how many business ideas have you had in the past five to ten years? If you say none, I’ve got some great products you can SPEND your money on right now. But for those of you who have, USE your tax return on that. Start that business and move in the direction you are passionate about. If it succeeds, congratulations! You’ve broken the mold you were stuck in. And if it fails, congratulations! Now you know what to do better next time….and guess what? You’ve got another tax return to invest coming your way in exactly one year from time the last one came. You win!

Just remember, poor people spend it, rich people use it to create a better future for themselves and those around them. Which side of the scale are you on? Because on a completely lopsided scale, who’s always above the rest? The minority!

Just a quick statement about failure.

In my mind, failures are divided into three basic classes:

• Those who thought and never did.
• Those who did and never thought.
• Those who flat out quit!

So many people will never accomplish their life’s goals because of the fear of failure. The funny thing is, failure is inevitable. Failure is part of the balance of life. For every positive, there is a negative. Where there is great success, there will also be great failure.

If anyone is to achieve any amount of success in his life, failure is just part of the process. To fear that failure would be making a huge mistake, IF, and only if, nothing is learned from it. Failures are the stepping stones to that great, I like to say, inevitable success.

I say inevitable because if you don’t QUIT, success becomes inevitable. How many times can you run off the road until you finally reach your destination? It’s just a matter of getting back onto the road and pressing forward understanding the reason you went off the road in the first place.

So, since failure is inevitable in its many different forms, it would be better that you DID, regardless of the result, instead of never DID at all. Getting on the bike and crashing is always better than never getting on at all. Yeah the crash hurts a bit, but because of the hurt, you’ll avoid the crash the next time around.

So, I am proud to admit……I am a failure, but not a quitter!

With all the negativity and suffering in the world, it can be difficult to keep your mind on all that is prosperous and positive. A huge part to success is the ability to control our thoughts. What we think about all the time, will eventually come about, in reality.

So here’s a solution to aid in keeping that focus where it should be, www.ProsperityWristBands.com. It’s a way to create a constant reminder of your commitment and focus to creating more prosperity in your life. There’s no better way to do that than to wear it.

Taken directly from the website:

“Prosperity Wristbands will help you create more prosperity in all areas of your life. These seven wristbands are a powerful  reminder to think prosperous thoughts throughout your day. They come with a comprehensive guidebook and are packaged in a beautiful gold organza bag. A great gift for yourself and others!”

I have known Pat McCleary, the creator of the Prosperity Wrist Bands for several years. Having had extreme success in the home business industry, he’s definitely qualified in knowing what it takes to keep a prosperous mindset. With the obvious need for more prosperity in these financially difficult times, this is a great solution.

Check out the wristbands and if you decided to purchase a set, use the coupon code FRIEND10 for a 10% savings on your order.

What do you do when the only time you have to exercise is at five in the morning and your body just doesn’t want to get out of bed? Or what do you do when the daily grind seems to be taking you one direction when your goals are supposed to take you another?

Is it possible to hit the pause button, and while the movie is on pause, change it to a completely different movie? Can such a drastic change happen for regular ole Janes and Joes? Can you wake up Clark, and like in the movies, still turn into Superman at will?

Can you just start living the life you want and become who you want? Just like that?

Well, I don’t know if you can or not. That’s something that is between you and yourself. Do you actually listen to that little voice inside that is telling you all you are capable of, or do you just roll with the punches and take what life brings your way?

For me, the way I do it, is with a simple phrase I learned long ago called “Be, Do, Have.”

For those of you who know what that means, I sure hope you’re living it. BE the person you want to be, DO the things that person would do and then you will HAVE the things that person has. The part that most people struggle with is always the beginning….the BE.

So at five in the morning, when the alarm clock goes off, do I reset it for seven, or can I BE the person I want to be. Honestly, that’s the secret for me. That’s exactly how I do it. It’s just a word, I know…but I repeat the word in my head when I hear that little voice inside. That voice just gets louder and louder, repeating the be, Be, BEEEEE….until I start to DO. At that point, with some consistency in Being and Doing, I will Have the health and strength I want for myself.

So it’s a good idea to scream it if you have to. Do what it takes. Be, Be, BE!

Tip of the day: When you are feeling a little poverty conscious, when thoughts of doubt about your financial future enter your mind frequently and things just don’t quite seem to be going your way, JUST LEAVE! Seriously, pack your suite case, get in the car and go somewhere that makes you feel good and prosperous. Get the heck out of Mayberry and go to a place where things are happening and the atmosphere is breath taking.

Spend the money it will take to get you there. It will be worth it!

Seriously though…..think about the most successful people you know. And if the most successful person you know is your best friends cousin Daryl, who won $1000 in the lottery once, think of the most successful person you know of…..a businessman, actor or athlete. Where do they hang out all the time? Do they stay in one spot?

NO! Successful people are on the move. Think about it, if you had all the money in the world and you started having feelings of doubt about your success, would you sit there and entertain that thought?

NO! You’d get up and replace that thought with a prosperous thought. And one of the best ways to do that is to have plenty of prosperous thoughts to replace it with.

Visiting Telluride Colorado gave me a dozen or more thoughts of prosperity! The waterfall, the cliffs, the Aspen trees in the fall and the snow tipped peaks were amazing. The town was busting with business and the weather was perfect. If I was having any thoughts of doubt or discouragement before I came here, believe me, they are gone. They’re insignificant now!

You see, there is a constant battle going on inside your head. The majority wants control and the majority is poverty, or averageness. Not even positive if averageness is a word, but it wants control, because everything in the world is pointing you in that direction. You’ve got to have some ammo to fight off the intruders. That ammo for me, today, was all I witnessed in Telluride.

If you haven’t been somewhere in a while, plan a trip. Not just to your mom’s house in the home town you came from, but to a place you have never been to before…a place that will inspire you. Take some pictures and record some video. Take your most favorite people in the world with you. Create some memories. It will be well worth it for you personally, and for your business. I promise!