This Labor Day weekend has been a great time for hiking in nearby Glacier National Park. Autumn is on the way and the first snows have sprinkled a sparkling white dusting on the high mountain peaks. On a hike a few days ago, I was struck by the contrast of the stark white snow against the lush, verdant green of our Montana summers.
Moving to Montana from Colorado more than a year ago, I had forgotten just how lush and green Montana is, as compared to Colorado. We just get used to what’s around us and sometimes forget to recognize and fully appreciate the beauty. On this hike just after the first snow, I was struck by the fact that it was the whiteness of the white that accentuated the green of the green.

The meadows, covered with a gorgeous blanket of wildflowers, provided a sharp contrast to the backdrop of the jagged, snow covered peaks.

My mind works in metaphors and I couldn’t help but think that it’s the same in life. So many times we have such amazing beauty and abundance around us, but it takes contrast and challenge for us to even see it, let alone fully recognize the beauty around us.

Just like it takes a rainy day to help us appreciate the sunny ones, the contrast of the white snow against the backdrop of the mountains helped me to appreciate the luxuriant green that was about to be covered with the coldness of winter.

How many times in our life do we forget to celebrate and be grateful for the lushness of life, only to pine for it when adversity threatens to bury us?

Today, take the time to appreciate the green in your life- even if it feels like you’re the mountain and life is the snow. Take the time to identify, recognize and appreciate the things in your own life that provide richness and beauty to you.

No matter who we are or where we are in life, to everything there is a season and we will all have snow. The secret is to appreciate the juiciness in the moment when its right in front of us. Go find and celebrate the lush richness in your  life today and write and share your experience with us.

Thanks for being such an important part of our community. Know that we appreciate you- especially in this very moment, right now… today.

p.s. For more photos from our hike in Glacier National Park please click here!

Last Friday evening my friends Tom and Sherry stopped by our home for a visit. For the last few weeks they’ve heard me tweeting, blogging and raving about my new Vitamix machine- and they had an idea. They live in Montana next to some wild open space that happens to be the home of a very abundant apple tree. Sherry and Tom showed up at my home with several hundred small greenish yellow apples, each about 2″ in diameter, providing the perfect opportunity to put the Vitamix to the test.

John Barnard, one of our Inspirational Luminaries and the grandson of the founder of Vitamix, taught me that the best way to eat an apple is to eat ALL of it- in a Vitamix. That includes the peel, the stem and the core, including all of the seeds, as lots of fiber, vitamins and minerals are found in the parts of the apple that most people put down the garbage disposal.

Hearing John’s voice in my head, Sherry, Tom and I decided to blend the apples in the Vitamix machine. We started with a little water in the bottom of the machine then tossed in nearly 20 apples, one at a time, while blending. The apples quickly turned from golden green globes to a pale yellow juice, bursting with flavor and with life. We spent the next two hours blending, pouring the juice in containers and freezing more than 50 quarts of fresh pureed apple juice!

I had no idea what I was getting into when I offered to blend the apples, but now I have delicious apples for smoothies all winter long. Tom and Sherry have already used some of their juice for pancakes, cookies and oatmeal. I use mine each day in my green smoothie. Just starting my day with something so healthy gives me such energy!

If you can’t tell, I’m in love with my Vitamix machine! So much so, that I want to give one to you to experience too. Here’s the deal. If you already have a machine, I’m sure you have a Vitamix story. We’re gathering them for a book to celebrate the 90th Anniversary of Vitamix, and invite you to please share your story with us now.

If you don’t have a Vitamix and you’d like to WIN a FREE VITAMIX please enter our contest!

– Just complete the sentence…. “I want to win a free Vitamix because…..” (in 100 words or less).

- Email your completed sentence to vitamix@inspiremetoday.com and tell us in 100 words or less, why you’d be the perfect person for us to gift a free Vitamix 5200 machine, valued at $449.

- Perhaps it will be health related, or maybe it will allow you to follow your dream to be a gourmet chef.

- Whatever the reason, be creative and remember, stories that inspire us and give us goosebumps get extra points.

- We’ll only read the first 100 words so please, make your words count and keep it under 100 total.

- All entries must be received by midnight on September 10th.

- The winning entry will be posted on InspireMeToday.com on September 13th.

That’s it- simple, easy and fun! If you need some ideas on what’s possible with a Vitamix, please go read some of the comments or watch a video or two on the Vitamix website. It’s full of information that can help you become healthier and more creative.

We look forward to reading your entries and awarding a Vitamix to one lucky person very soon. Someone has to win- and it could be you… so submit your entry now! Thank you for your participation!

I recognized the name from seeing them at Costco or at the fair, but I’d never taken the time to stop and listen to the presentation, let alone sample the wonderful concoctions they create in the Vitamix.

I flew back to their home office in Cleveland, Ohio, and I was inspired with the product, the people and the company. They’re an American company celebrating 90 years, still family owned and operated, with loyalty like I’ve never seen. Some of their employees have worked at Vitamix for nearly 40 years! Some of their customers still have a machine that is more than 50 years old!

I started reading story after story of people who changed their lives- because of this machine. From a woman losing 120 lbs by eating healthier, to a critically ill grandmother that lived another 5 years due to the ability to be nourished with blended food through a feeding tube, to the entrepreneur chef who expanded his empire because he had the right tool- everyone loves Vitamix. I discovered, they don’t just have customers, they have raving fans!

But, I wanted to learn for myself so I took one home with me. Now, I’m in love with my Vitamix and can’t imagine a day without it! I find I’m reluctant to travel because I’m not sure how I’ll get my green smoothie in the morning!

And yes, I did say GREEN. I’ve learned that morning starts with two handfuls of greens- spinach, kale, chard or whatever happens to be in the refrigerator, toss in an apple- seed, core and all, some grapes, a banana and some ice, and I’m in heaven. I feel like I’m drinking life itself. Yum!

The really good news is… YOU have a chance to win a Vitamix!!! We’re giving away a Vitamix right here on InspireMeToday.com, so please stay tuned for details in the next few days.

After using this machine for the last month I truly believe that the world would be a better place if everyone had a Vitamix. It’s not just a blender- and maybe, like it did for me, it takes the experience of using a Vitamix to truly understand the difference it can make in your life. I’m so inspired and I want to share the opportunity with you to be inspired too. So, please stay tuned right here for the chance to win a Vitamix…. details coming on Monday!

As usual, I couldn’t help but relate this experience- in this case berry picking- to life. Here are some life lessons I was reminded of while picking huckleberries:

1. Timing is everything. A week too early and the berries aren’t ripe. A week too late and they’re gone. And like many things in life, you can’t make berries get ripe before their time. It helps to remember that Nature is always right- even when our timing and Divine timing are different
2. Life is abundant. It you think you’ve run out of berries to pick, just look around you. Chances are if your patch is empty you’ll always find another one just a few steps away.
3. Getting messy can be fun. Don’t worry about the purple stains on your hands, your sticky fingers, mud on your shorts or anything else. Just enjoy the moment!
4. Problems exist everywhere. What you focus on grows- and remembering that is critical. The key is to focus on the good things in life- the berries, being in Nature and the beauty of the moment rather than the mosquitoes, the flies, the neighboring thorn bushes, the heat or anything else. Choose to focus on the good things.
5. Things are always more fun when we share them with friends. When you’re heading off to do something fun, share the experience with someone you love.
6. Collaboration works better than competition. It seems like when we were each trying to fill our own bags with berries, the process was much slower than when jointly tried to fill one bucket. And, it was more fun to work together in the same patch too.
7. Persistence pays off. If you keep on picking what’s in front of you, eventually your bucket will be full.
8. Perspective changes everything. If you’re not happy- change your perspective. In the case of picking huckleberries, it’s a literal change. The perspective from above and below are quite different. Most times, the best things in life lie under the surface. If you’re standing in the forest looking down at a huckleberry bush, most times it will look like a bear has already enjoyed the feast, as the berries are hidden underneath the leaves and can’t normally be seen from above. But, when you kneel down on the ground and look up at the bushes, you will find plump, purple berries just waiting to be picked.  It’s when we turn things upside down and look at the world differently that circumstances usually change for the better in our lives as well. (In the photos below, the left photo is looking at the bush from above , and the right photo is the same bush looking up from the ground.)
9. Gratitude works. Every time I had thoughts of “no more berries”, I was consciously grateful for the berries that we’d already picked and almost immediately we found more unpicked berries. The process seems endless
10. Share. Always leave some for the bears and others to enjoy, knowing there will always be more next season.
11. There is nothing so sweet as enjoying the fruits of our efforts, or in this case, eating an amazing huckleberry pie, made with love from the berries that we just picked. When we’re tired of “working” and we’re tempted to quit, it helps to keep the reward in mind. Just visualizing that mouth-watering yummy pie made it easy to pick more than enough berries for our pie, and provided a wonderful way to spend a summer day in Montana.

For the past week or so, each morning as I wake up, I consciously start the day with gratitude. Rather than focusing on the problems that I need to deal with that day, I envision all the things in my life that I’m truly grateful for… the people, the experiences, the feelings and emotions. I allow myself to overflow with happiness… until I can’t help but smile.

Now here’s where the game starts to get tricky. Believing that the true value of a smile comes from sharing it…. I take my smile out into the world. The game is to see how long I can keep it before one of life’s curve balls knocks it off my face. Some days I’ve consciously made it until noon and still had my smile. Other days my thoughts around a problem or a stressful situation have made it disappear before breakfast. I haven’t made it through an entire day yet…. but I’m working on it.

We all know that life will throw one thing after another at us…. but how big will the obstacle or inconvenience have to be to make the smile disappear? If you stub you toe as you get out of bed, will that be big enough? If your car won’t start, will that do it? If you lose your job or can’t pay the mortgage, will that be your smilebreaker? How big does the problem have to be to make your smile disappear?

Each day we have a choice to be happy. So for today, join me in the game.  Just for this one day- CHOOSE TO BE HAPPY.

Choose to keep your smile and share it with others, no matter happens. The only thing that can change our smile to a frown is our thoughts- and we have control over that. We may not control the circumstances, but we do control our reaction to them.

Be conscious of your smile and your thoughts. If it disappears, recognize it and change your thoughts to bring it back to your face. You can’t share a smile if you’re not wearing one. Make it the first thing you put on in the morning and see how long you can keep it. If you lose it, don’t beat yourself up- just put on another one as soon as you realize it’s gone.

As you do this exercise each morning if will become easier as you become more conscious of it. Don’t worry if initially you realize around 9am that you’ve lost your smile somewhere that morning. Just go back in your mind and reflect on the question, “What was my smilebreaker”, and then, knowing that you traded your happiness for that thought, ask yourself these questions…..

Was it worth it?
What did I get out of that experience?
Wouldn’t I rather be happy?

Chances are it will help you to understand and see where you’re allowing yourself to be controlled by the situation around you.

You deserve to be happy- that’s why it takes more muscles to frown than it does to smile. You were born to be happy. Allow it to happen.

Be conscious of it…. and the more you do this, the easier it will become. Pretty soon we’ll all be walking around sharing big grins with one another laughing at the days when our smilebreaker used to be a very small, silly thought.

Please share your experience with me below. I want to know, how long did you keep your smile and how big was your smilebreaker? I want to know if you were able to keep your beautiful smile all day- consciously and intentionally, and what happened in your life as a result of it. Share your happiness and your success with us below. Just imagining your smiles and your success, I’m already smiling… so I guess this day is off to a great start.

In some way, if you’re reading this blog, you may have been influenced by the content we provide each day on InspireMeToday.com. (Hopefully in a very good way!)

We’ve all had personal experiences where we were influenced by another and where we’ve influenced others.

Like many things in life, influence by and of itself is neither a good or bad thing. The important thing is the intention. If you’re using influence to sell someone a car that they can’t afford, that’s probably not a good thing. If you’re using influence to inspire people to reach out and serve one another, that’s most likely a positive thing.

Influence, like many other things, is primarily determined by the person wielding the influence. Influence is nothing more than a tool and we get to choose how to use it. With the privilege of influence also comes responsibility.

Which begs the question, “If you had great influence in the world, what would then be possible for you?” Would you go into sales and make millions? Would you raise money for charity or change public policy? How would you serve the greater good?

The reason this blog topic came up is due to the Fast Company Influence Project. This is a contest to measure our “influence”, or in this case, our reach in social media. Anyone can join by registering on the Fast Company website, then inviting their friends and associates to click on the link, sign up and pass it on again. The contest tracks how deep our connections go. It’s a trackable version of the six degrees of separation where you can see that the 50 people that you got to click on your link, each got another 50 to click on theirs, who each got another 50 to click on theirs… and so on. Pretty soon, you’ve reached millions of people. As your influence grows, so does the size of your photo.

Fast Company Influence Project

I’m participating in the FastCompany Influence Project and would greatly appreciate your support. I’m humbly asking you to please take 30 seconds to click on this link to help me track our influence.

You might be wonder why we are participating in this contest. We believe that with great influence you have a better chance of achieving great things. As we reach out daily through InspireMeToday.com and plan our upcoming Global Hug Tour, the simple fact is the more people we can reach, the more good we can do in the world. Influence allow us to create positive change.

Some have suggested this contest is just an egotistical, popularity contest. Again, it depends how you look at it, and how you choose to use the tool. If we were using the influence that we might gain for self-serving reasons, maybe. We have a bigger task at hand.

For the past two years we’ve been providing FREE inspiration to you each day. We’ve often been asked, “How can I thank you for the great, free inspiration that makes such a difference in my life?”…….. and here’s the answer. It’s easy and won’t cost you a dime. We need your help:

1) Vote for InspireMeToday in the FastCompany Influence Project and share this link with your contacts. If everyone who reads this passes this on to their list, we truly can reach the world. (Here’s the link if you want to cut and paste- http://fcinf.com/v/ay8e)

2) Follow @InspireMeToday and @GlobalHugTour on Twitter

3) Join our FaceBook “Like” Page for InspireMeToday and TheGlobalHugTour

4) Sign up to receive FREE daily inspiration from InspireMeToday.com by email, through the RSS feed or on your iPhone.

Thank you in advance for your kind assistance in helping us inspire the world. As Margaret Mead once said, “A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” We welcome you to join our small group and together, make a BIG difference.

But, even in the midst of confusion, pain or suffering, we do have a choice in our reaction to our circumstances. No matter what happens, we get to choose how to react to it. I’m the first to admit that this is often difficult to remember when life is smacking us in the face. It’s so much easier to do when we intentionally set the tone for our day BEFORE we jump into it.

Personally, I find that the first 15 minutes of my day is the most important part of the entire 24 hours. It’s like putting the train on the right track at the beginning of the day rather than trying to right a derailed train later.

Here are a few tips to help you through difficult times and help you take control of your day- before it ever begins.

As you wake up tomorrow morning, remind yourself of these things….

1.) Don’t buy into what appears as real. You are not your problems. You are not your failures. You are a magnificent being with unlimited potential.

2.) Hold the vision of what you WANT to happen, not what appears to be happening. Stay with the vision. See it, share it, feel it. Focus on what you want to bring into your life rather than what might appear to be showing up.

3.) Keep the faith. When scary things happen, remember to go inside and renew your faith that everything is unfolding as it should. You are a child of God, no less then the moon and the stars. Certainly if the entire Universe works with perfection and we’re an integral part of it, then things are happening as they should for us too. Our challenge isn’t to deal with what may appear as a problem, but to find the blessing in the situation. Find the gift in what’s happening around you.

4.) Fear is False Evidence Appearing Real. Remember that fear is just an illusion. It’s simply energy that can be redirected to excitement, just by changing your focus.

5.) Remember, this too shall pass. All things come and go. Change is the only thing that’s constant in our lives. Be open. Adapt. Know that what may appear as a mountain in front of you will soon be a molehill behind you. Knowing this too shall pass enables us to get through anything.

6.) Remember your inner magnificence! You are an infinite being with unlimited potential. Seriously, when you think about it in that way, would an infinite being be afraid of anything? YOU are infinite. You are a part of something so much bigger than yourself or your problems. Tap into that greatness and put things in perspective.

7.) Surround yourself with people who support you. On days that you forget your magnificence, they’ll be there to remind you of how amazing you are and help you see the beauty and possibility of life. They’ll be there to help you achieve your dreams and contribute to the world in a bigger way.

8.) Realize that you are not alone. You are part of God, the Universe, a greater consciousness or whatever you may call that overpowering, loving force of Nature. You are not meant to walk alone, nor can you ever really do so.  We are intertwined and are all part of one another. We are all the same. And we are walking this path together, going through the same things, learning the same lessons. Be compassionate with one another.

9.) Practice gratitude. When you count your blessings a world of abundance opens unto you. And if what you focus on grows, then let it be gratitude.

10.) Go do something for someone else. Start your day asking yourself, “How can I be of service” and watch your own problems diminish. The perceived size of your problem will diminish in direct proportion to the how much you give to others. Be there for one another.

Reread this again tomorrow morning, put this into action in your own life and let me know how it works for you. We’re here to help remind you that you can do, be or create anything in your life. We’re walking the same path with you and we’re here to support you in any way. Please, let me know how we can be of greater service to you. Now, go make your day rock!

This past weekend I had the perfect tangible example of this principal. Our extended family was visiting from Seattle and we decided to take the family water skiing and tubing on Flathead Lake. For those that have never done this, please allow me to explain some of the physics of water skiing.
The engine of the boat under power creates a V-shaped path behind the boat, called the wake.  It is almost like the boat calms this area of the water, usually creating the easiest and safest place to tube or water ski- but not necessarily the most fun. As long as the boat is traveling in a straight line, it’s easy to stay in the wake and ski or tube safely and easily.

The V-shaped wake is delineated by a wave of water, usually from 6″ to a foot or two high, which can easily be crossed by an experienced water skier or tuber. When you exert pressure (weight) by leaning to one side or the other, the ski or the tube will go in that direction, allowing you to steer yourself right or left. This motion allows us to intentionally direct our course and actually cross the wake. However, crossing the wake can be incredibly intimidating to most- especially the first time you try to venture outside of the safety of its borders and explore uncharted waters.

The area outside the V-shaped wake hasn’t been “smoothed” by the engine and can sometimes contain waves or otherwise turbulent waters. It can be a bit more difficult stepping into the unknown, but it’s usually more exhilarating too.

Just as in life, when the boat turns, the forces of Nature, in this case centrifugal force, tries to slingshot us across the wake at what feels like a great speed. It can be downright scary, depending upon the height of our protective walls of the wake.

I have to smile at the similarity of life. How many times do we stay in our own wake and fear crossing outside into unknown territory? How often do we require the twists and turns of our life path to create a force that literally propels us outside of our comfort zone?

If we stay within our normal boundaries, it’s easy to be comfortable. Traveling outside of the wake or our comfort zone, is an exciting experience because we’re venturing into unknown territory. It takes courage but the more we dare to explore outward, the more our comfort zone expands.

Instead of being afraid to try something new, what would it look like to exert pressure and go there intentionally? For an experienced tuber or skier, being in the wake is boring. Although crossing the wake can be a bit tricky, the greatest thrills are to be found outside the boundaries of safety.

Where in your life are you staying within self-imposed boundaries because you don’t yet have the confidence to cross your own wake? What would it take for you to choose to fly across the wake, get a little air, feel the wind on your face as the force of life pulls you faster and faster, as you scream WOOOHOOOOO!?

Crossing the wake of life is like anything else- it’s all in our mind. If we think it’s going to be difficult, we’re right. If we think it will be easy, once again, we’re right. In water skiing, tubing or life, we get to choose the quality of our experience. We get to choose the level of difficulty.  We get to create our experience.
For today, let’s break through our limiting beliefs, realize that we are infinite beings with unlimited potential and literally jump our own self-imposed wake. There is a great big beautiful world out there just waiting to be explored by us. Let’s go enjoy the day and make it happen!

Destiny is defined as the events that will necessarily happen to a particular person or thing in the future, or the hidden power believed to control what will happen in the future; fate. Some believe that everything is controlled by destiny and we have little control over the outcome. Others believe that our thoughts alone control our future. Regardless of your personal belief, I hope you enjoy the following story which I found and loved…

During a momentous battle, a Japanese general decided to attack even though his army was greatly outnumbered. He was confident they would win, but his men were filled with doubt. On the way to the battle, they stopped at a religious shrine. After praying with the men, the general took out a coin and said,

“I shall now toss this coin. If it is heads, we shall win. If tails, we shall lose. Destiny will now reveal itself.”

He threw the coin into the air and all watched intently as it landed. It was heads. The soldiers were so overjoyed and filled with confidence that they vigorously attacked the enemy and were victorious. After the battle, a lieutenant remarked to the general,

“No one can change destiny.”

“Quite right,” the general replied as he showed the lieutenant the coin, which had heads on both sides.

I’m such a visual person and I can just picture the interconnected neural pathways inside my brain. I’m also such a tangible person and I also can “see” the interconnectedness between all of us as individuals. We’ve all experienced losing touch with a friend and then years later, trying to reestablish that same relationship. Sometimes it’s easy to step back in where we left off, and other times much more difficult. Use it or lose it.

In today’s fast-paced, ultra connected world, staying connected to the ones we cherish is so very important. But time is valuable and there are so many things vying for our attention that often, the things we cherish most, fall to the wayside from neglect. If we want to keep those connections strong, we need to make a conscious effort to do so.

There are many ways to stay in touch with people we love, especially through social media tools like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Real life offers opportunity to be with friends, but sometimes it’s hard to stay in touch with everyone that’s important. Personally, I love Send Out Cards and use that to let loved ones know how much they mean to me. (You can try it for FREE  too!)

Regardless of what method we choose, if we don’t use it, we’ll lose the connection, both in our our neural pathways and in the interconnectedness of our world.

I can’t think of anything more valuable to me in my life than the relationships with those that I love. So today, I’m going to reach out and consciously use the connection so I don’t lose it. How do you stay connected? What tricks can you share with our community? Just by sharing, you’re staying connected to us, and we thank you in advance for doing so. We really value you as a part of this community, so thanks for being here today and sharing your wisdom with us.