This Is Why...

Tomorrow is my wife's birthday. Yes, she's a St Patrick's Day baby, born in the heart of Chicago. For years she thought the parade was in her honor. Not that she has a swelled importance of herself; that's just the way 4 year olds tend to think.

When I met her - I think from the moment I met her - I knew, I just knew, she was the one. I know that sounds terribly cheesy, especially coming from a person who loves movies - I do tend to believe Hollywood's version of boy meets girl, etc.

But in this case it's true. She's my best friend, my motivator, my compass, my swift-kick-in-the-butt. And she's the main reason I joined SparkPeople.

You see, she lost her father at a very young age. She was 13. He was 42. Ironically he passed away on my birthday. I am currently 41. And the very fact that this big number is looming ahead scares her. Not that she ever truly says those words, but I know it does.

This is why.

This is why I have changed my eating habits this month.

This is why I have started working out again.

This is why I have made a conscious effort to be happier and live a fuller life.

She's my reason for everything.

Happy birthday to my love. My life. My partner. My friend. My wife.

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24 Hours of Inspirational Tweets! http://tiny.cc/ead58

24 Hours of Inspirational Tweets

I had to skip yesterday's tweet feed, due to a few personal reasons (nothing bad!) At any rate I hope you all are enjoying the feed - I know I am!

To your success and mine, here's today's positive feed:

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Let your sense of determination come not from fear, but from love. - Ralph Marston

Not needing is a great freedom. It frees you from the fear that without a certain thing, you won't be happy. - Neale Donald Walsch

Everyone has a built-in, Happiness-Now Button, that can instantly change how they feel. Go on, push it real good. - Mike Dooley

Failure is a contribution to success. - Robin Sharma

Dream big dreams, and set magnificent goals that take your breath away. - Ralph Marston

What you resist, persists. Let go. - Mabel Katz

For most of us, our default way of being in the world is to operate from our humanity rather than our divinity. - Debbie Ford

When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe. ~ John Muir, quoted by Lennie Appelquist

The way to be passionate is to be honest. True passion comes from true purpose. - Ralph Marston

Twitter: If we are wasting time and enjoying, we are not wasting time. - Paolo Coelho

Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going. ~ Jim Rohn, quoted by John Assaraf

YES and NO are excellent words to answer complicated questions. - Paolo Coelho

Perfect timing might just be exactly where we're at. - Robin Sharma

Getting strong of body will get you strong of mind. - Robin Sharma

It is precisely because life can be so tough and painful that it can also be so beautiful and fulfilling. - Ralph Marston

Take a look today at what sweet, simple things of life you may be looking past, and neither seeing or enjoying. Look closely. - Neale Donald Walsch

Miracles are happening all the time, but if your eyes, ears, mind and heart aren't open -- then the miracles are there, but you're not! - Marianne Williamson

We are tasting the taste , this minute of eternity. - Deepak Chopra

Don't despair, dare. CHI! - The Barefoot Doctor

Life is wondrous beyond anything the illusion we live under allows us to see. - Carl Bozeman

Core belief: there is no purpose in life other than to experience all of it and enjoy everything about it  - Carl Bozeman

Seek to get in touch with the perfection of all things. This is the way to peace. In all things, see the perfection. - Neale Donald Walsch

The skill of achievement is primarily a matter of reminding yourself, again and again, why you must. - Ralph Marston

Appreciating what you have and what you've done is something you can do every day to feel great about yourself. - Debbie Ford

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24 Hours of Inspirational Tweets! http://tiny.cc/ead58

24 Hours of Inspirational Tweets

Day 3 of our Daily Inspirational Tweets! I get all of these from twitter. Yes, the very same twitter where Hollywood A-listers tell you about the mokafrappilattay they just inhaled - proof positive that there is much more out there than what seems to be. And that's a good thing to keep in mind while we're reading these today.

To your success and mine, here is today's feed:

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Putting yourself first does not mean being what you term "selfish" - it means being self aware. - Neale Donald Walsch

Your best year will be made up of a collection of those moments that you claim as special and imprint into your consciousness. - Debbie Ford

Don't get upset. Don't get resentful. Get busy.  - Ralph Marston

The health of our physical is coupled inextricably to the health of our spirit. - Carl Bozeman

Help someone out today - it will come back to you sometime & could create a ripple effect! - John Holland

Challenge builds strength. Get some. - Ralph Marston

Love burns across the infinitude. ~ Terri Guillemets, quoted by Lennie Appelquist

Every day includes a conversation with God. There are many days on which we do not hear the conversation. So stay awake. - Neale Donald Walsch

Seize every opportunity to relish the details of your life. - Debbie Ford

Talent is God given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful. ~ John Wooden, quoted by Lennie Appelquist

Be shameless about love. Get the shame out of it, and replace it with celebration. - Neale Donald Walsch

We can only access the resources and behaviors of the self that has consented to be seen. - Debbie Ford

The future is as bright and beautiful as you decide to see it. See it, live it, and make it so. - Ralph Marston

The future is not what some expert predicts. The future is what you choose to create. - Ralph Marston

We waste a lot of time running after people we could have caught by just standing still. ~ Mignon McLaughlin, quoted by Lennie Appelquist

This is difficult to hear, but I tell you this: There is perfection in everything. Strive to see the perfection. - Neale Donald Walsch

We live in a time of opening up and of healing and growth. - Debbie Ford

Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul. -Henry Ward Beecher, quoted by Marci Shimoff

See past the mask of personality that people wear in public. Express your truth as simply as possible - Deepak Chopra

Your good fortune comes from your own commitment to excellence, from the value you create, from the true and meaningful difference you make. - Ralph Marston

Our unclaimed darkness continually shows itself on the screen of those around us. - Debbie Ford

Reaching your purpose means that you act from your highest values. Don't sink to the level of those who criticize and oppose you. - Deepak Chopra

Faith is love taking the form of aspiration. -William Ellery Channing, quoted by Marci Shimoff

When nothing is there, everything is possible. - Ralph Marston

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24 Hours of Inspirational Tweets! http://tiny.cc/ead58

24 Hours of Inspirational Tweets

It's so easy to fall into old patterns. I suppose that's why they are called patterns. (I knew that college learnin' would smarten me up!) It is difficult - but not impossible - to change them. I am trying to surround myself with positivity, and this is one of my tools. Hopefully, it will become one of yours too. At least that's my hope.

To your success and mine, here's today's positive feed:

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"Art is never finished, only abandoned." - Leonardo da Vinci, quoted by Robin Sharma

Some people walk in the rain, others just get wet. ~ Roger Miller, quoted by Lennie Appelquist

Life is like a coin.  You can spend it any way you wish, but you only spend it once. ~ Lillian Dickson, quoted by Lennie Appelquist

Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint on it you can. ~ Danny Kaye, quoted by Lennie Appelquist

Many people make themselves unhappy simply by finding it impossible to accept life just as it is presenting itself right now. - Neale Donald Walsch

Your tormentor today is yourself left over from yesterday - Deepak Chopra

Beyond where you are comfortable is where you will grow and improve and achieve. - Ralph Marston

What people think about you is none of your business - Deepak Chopra

Progress is made by those who do what they are afraid to do. - Ralph Marston

All change is change for the better. Change is the process of Life Itself. - Neale Donald Walsch

Muster up the courage and the strength from inside your human self and declare, " I am going to fulfill my highest potential now." - Debbie Ford

Daily reminder : Make at least one person happy today. - Deepak Chopra

In the digital economy, authenticity is a more valuable currency than popularity. - Robin Sharma

To love on the expectation of being loved in return is a waste of time. - Paolo Coelho

Wherever you're going, send love before you get there. - Marianne Williamson

If you're not making mistakes, then you're not doing anything. I'm positive that a doer makes mistakes. ~ John Wooden, quoted by Lennie Appelquist

Dare to dream and let that dream pull you after it. - Ralph Marston

A constant stream of goodness is flowing into your life right now. See it, feel it and accept it. - Ralph Marston

Life's great and wonderful blessings are not for hoarding. They are for living. - Ralph Marston

There is no surprise more magical than the surprise of being loved. It is God's finger on man's shoulder. ~ Charles Morgan, quoted by Lennie Appelquist

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24 Hours of Inspirational Tweets! http://tiny.cc/ead58

24 Hours of Inspirational Tweets

I am attempting to update this blog on a daily basis. This is one of my new goals for the year. I figure as long as I am feeding my body healthy things, I may as well feed my soul also. And so I present you the best of the positive twitter feed for the past 24 hours.

To your success and mine, here is today's feed:

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The universe is conspiring in your favor, bringing you all of the perfect people and situations to answer life's only question: Who am I. - Neale Donald Walsch

The level of consciousness U choose to tune in to each moment of each day will determine the quality of your experience.  - Debbie Ford

"Age wrinkles the body. Quitting wrinkles the soul." -Douglas McArthur, quoted by Jack Canfield

The only peace in all the world that is sustaining is Internal Peace. Let each person find peace within. - Neale Donald Walsch

When we look for what's right; we inspire our children, our friends, our co-workers, and our communities. - Debbie Ford

...what we are aware of at any given moment is a fraction of what is really going on... - Carl Bozeman

Smiling can be a deliberate, intentioned act. When it is that, it becomes an act of creation, and a powerful tool.  - Neale Donald Walsch

Your difficult feelings need love, too. - Debbie Ford

Be grateful and Life will begin to breathe you as you breathe it, and ultimately the divine will emerge. - Carl Bozeman

No matter who or where you are, we are one wholeness in motion & it is love. - Deepak Chopra

Do not destroy the experience by interpreting it - Deepak Chopra

God intended us to be not only free, but fully capable. Of what? Of producing, of creating, of experiencing what we have long desired. - Neale Donald Walsch

Only by admitting the cost of some of our behaviors will we unlock the energy to defy the gravitational pull of our past. - Debbie Ford

Every time you are tempted to react in the same old way, ask if you want to be a prisoner of the past or a pioneer of the future. - Deepak Chopra

Your job is to be present and observe. In the present moment you have everything you need. - Mabel Katz

On the other side of your greatest fears lie your biggest rewards. - Robin Sharma

You are not your body, your mind, and you are not your soul. You are far bigger than any of them, and all of them put together. - Neale Donald Walsch

When you're connected to your soul's deeper purpose, you are able to bring to the world that which you long to give. - Debbie Ford

Life was never meant to be about choosing. Life is about living - living without fear of our decisions. - Carl Bozeman

Are you willing to overcome your daily minor obstacles? Look to see what they offer you in terms of growth, and you'll see their treasure. - Neale Donald Walsch

In the absence of resentment, love flourishes. - Debbie Ford

Nothing that has been inflicted upon humanity by humanity is impossible for humanity to reverse. - Neale Donald Walsch

We each have a choice, and with each action we either feed or starve our life force. - Debbie Ford

When you want for the whole world what you want for yourself - peace, joy, abundance - You multiply the energy you send out. - Neale Donald Walsch

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24 Hours of Inspirational Tweets! http://tiny.cc/ead58