Terri King Speaks

Are you like me? Your day is filled with so many distractions that some important things just don’t get done.

By the end of the day when I get home I have a 3-year-old that needs snacks, a bath, and a bedtime story, a house that needs cleaned, and the list go on. I suspect it’s not so different from your list.

I have been neglecting precious and critical prayer/mediation time with myself. This has got to stop.

So, this weekend I designated a secret place in my house. This is a place that is off limits to the rest of the family. The ambiance is comfortable for me. I have low light using candles, a small heater, a desk, a blanket, and my inspirational book collection.
I close the door and enter another place. Now I can escape to my dreams, goals, and creative planning without distraction.

I can’t over emphasize how critical positive imaging is to our success. We’ve got to visualize the desired outcome and hold the image firmly in our minds everyday for our subconscious to pick up the signal and help us bring it into reality.

Already, if feel it working.

If you are in the market for a secret place, here’s some criteria to consider:

1. Look for a space that can be comfortable to you(you’ve got to be able to relax)
2. Can you post a “Keep Out” sign on the door?(I lock mine so I can leave my books and papers lying around)
3. A smaller space might be best (mine is a closet in the spare bedroom)
4. Is it convenient to access?( if it were in your home, even 5-10 minutes before bedtime would be great)

This little adjustment creating consistent prayer/mediation can change our lives forever!!

Let’s do it and keep doing it?

Terri King

“Freedom is an effervescent idea that can’t be bottled up forever.”

This is a quote by Scott Simon, NPR news, while reporting on the unrest over the Chinese rule of Tibet.

I was just thinking:

To ever beat the odds, achieve the impossible, and overcome the insurmountable, one must start with a burning desire (the idea).

Now fix in your mind the image of you and your life once you have achieved your desire. Constantly think positive, affirming thoughts of that end (the effervescense).

Next, keep a lid on it!! Tell of your dreams only to the few that will encourage you and help you build excitement for the future achievement (bottled up). The naysayers and small-minded can cause your precious energy to dissipate and be lost FOREVER!

Finally, start “P.U.S.H.”ing.

Pray, Persist
Until
Something
Happens
(This is the pressure-building phase.)

Next thing you know that effervescent idea will explode into reality and set you free.

Special thanks to Rhonda Ford for her contributions to this posting.

Terri King

“Once I knew only darkness and stillness…my life was without past or future…but a little word from the fingers of another fell into my hand that clutched at emptiness and my heart leaped to the rapture of living.”

This is a quote by Helen Keller referring to her teacher, Anne Sullivan. Helen Keller had handicaps that threatened the prospect of a successful life. She was deaf and blind.

Maybe you and I aren’t deaf or blind, but we all have weaknesses and obstacles in the path between us and our best selves.

What’s keeping you from getting that better job? What’s keeping me from realizing the dreams I have for my company? What’s keeping us all from having more to share with the world?

No one achieves great success without the help of others.

Would we have ever known Helen Keller without Anne Sullivan?

With that thought, I challenge you with 3 tasks:

1. Search yourself. Identify the weaknesses that hold you back. Be honest.

2. Seek out people who have the strengths you need and get them on your team.

3. Volunteer yourself to help someone else bridge the gap in their road to greatness.

Here’s hoping we find the Anne Sullivans we need to help us see a better way and hear gentle reminders that we can make history if we are willing to go the extra mile.

Terri King

As I was about to say on Monday…

Maybe you’ve heard Oprah is endorsing Eckhardt Tolle’s new book “A New Earth”. I haven’t read this one yet but it reminded me of one of his books I have read, ” Practicing the Power of Now”.

It’s about being present in the moment. Close your eyes and feel the presence of your own body, your arms, legs, breathing, etc. What do you hear, feel, smell? Once you’ve done this you have practiced the power of now.

It’s really a very interesting exercise in which you emotionally remove yourself from the experience. Tolle calls it being the “observer”.

Here’s the real treasure in this. Once you’ve realized the ability to emotionally remove yourself from any experience you gain control over the value of that experience. You can then decide whether it is important, garbage, or reject it altogether for irrelevance to you.

When you become the observer, there is no past, no future, only now and you have the power to assign the value placed on the now.

So as you go through the course of your day, and life happens, ask yourself:

Does this really matter to me?

What kind of impact do I want this to have on me?

Where will one reaction vs. another lead me?

Then assign value ranging from no value to critically valuable and react accordingly. No value get none of your energy and time and critically valuable gets much more.

I’m finding right now that this is harder to put into words than I realized but once you have experienced it for yourself you will feel the empowerment of it.

Use the past for the lessons it teaches, use the future for the hope that it promises, engage in the present. It’s where life happens.

Terri King

What is your appearance saying about you?  How we dress and talk is directly proportionate to who we are and who we think we are.  How others perceive you is exactly how you are in their minds, regardless of the accuracy of such an assessment.

So, does image really matter?  The answer is, it depends.  It matters if it matters to you.  You can adopt the image of your choice.  If you want to be a corporate exectutive, then dress like one.  If you want to be a cowboy, get  a big hat and boots.  Learn the language and style of the person you wish to become. 

Not only will others adopt that perception but it will take you a long way to believing you can be that person.  Incidently, convincing yourself is your hardest challenge.  After that, the rest of us are easy. 

What does your best self look like? 

Three Things to think about when creating your image:

1. Develop your own style.  Take great ideas from others and put your own spin on them.

2. A great smile is an asset to any style.

3. Own it!!  It’s yours and you don’t have to explain it to anyone.  Rock on with confidence.

You’re on the stage of your life.  You’re the star of the show. You have the power to write the YOU character any way you want.  Don’t hold back.  Give us something exciting.

I can’t wait to see it.

 Terri King

This weekend I began a project that will end with a book about my paternal grandmother, Stella Walker King.  Just one fact-finding session into my journey I got rewarded with stories I had never planned on. I recorded her voice as she spoke and have listened intently to the conversation between 2 generations many times already. 

Is there someone in your life you admire and respect?  Or maybe you know someone who’s just really interesting to you.  May I encourage you today to take the time to call them up or sit down to a little talk about who they are, where they’re from, and what they’ve lived through. 

Perserving the heritage of the human spirit is a worthy cause. You just might get the same emotional rewards I got yesterday.  I hope so.

Your new job: Journalist.  If you uncover a great story, post a comment and share it with us.  I can’t wait to see what kind of treasures you dig up.

Terri King

Whoever’s thinking has the most authority.  The concept that thoughts have power goes back thousands of years.  By that, you’ve guessed I’m not going to tell you anything new, but this is worth revisiting.  Have you ever let your mind wonder back on an emotional experience and find yourself weeping or laughing all over again?  Good.  You’ve had a personal experience with the power of your mind and its ability to give life to thoughts.  Our lives are born daily out of our own thoughts.  I remember the first time I caught a glimpse of this powerful truth.  I was then and still am thrilled to know that my life is whatever I make it.  I’m the Boss. The same goes for us all.  The paper-thin barrier between us and what we really want for our lives is just the decision to have it, and then, manage our thoughts well enough to reach our goal.

Remember you’re the boss.  Here are some thought management strategies every boss can use:

1. Negative thinking gets the pink slip, NO EXCEPTIONS!!

2. Positive thinking gets rewarded, and a PROMOTION!!

3.  Thoughts go the right direction, or they get REPLACED!!

Bossy Self to Thought: “I know it sounds like a mighty tough place to work, but we’re not tinkering around here, Mr. Thought, lives depend on your determination and focus.  Now, let’s get busy.”

Have fun bossing yourself around.

Terri King

Pursuing anything worthwhile? Perhaps you know you risk suffering defeat before attaining that which you desire.  Don’t let the fear of failure cripple you.  Go after your dreams.  Failure is not fatal. In fact, it’s a natural part of the journey to your best self.  It is a common reaction for most people to give up at the first sign of defeat.  Giving up, on the other hand, is fatal.  If we give up, the game is over.  We must ask ourselves, “How much does it mean to me?” If you really want it, it’s worth a few setbacks along the way.  We can learn lessons in failure that can lead to success just beyond the spot in the road where the majority turns back.  You and I can succeed if we don’t quit. 

P.S. If you aren’t pursuing anything worthwhile, you should get to work on that right away.  Somebody needs you, namely, YOU!

What are values? Webster says they’re “that which is regarded as desirable or worthy.” That question was easy enough to answer, but here’s one only you can answer.  “What are your values?”  Perhaps you are wondering why I ask this question.  As most of you know I am a small business owner (King Associates Real Estate, LLC) and I am a firm believer in business planning.  My office manager, Rhonda Ford, and I were working on pieces of the plan when she brought values to my attention.  We have had a mission statement since our inception, but no stated values.  As  I have thought more about this I realize that this is a critical piece we were missing.  First evaluate yourself for your personal values.  What premise do you live and make decisions by? Simply, why do you do what you do? Or why not? What is important to you? This will lead you to the explanation of your character, your values.  From there, you can develop your professional values as they should be very similar.  I have been amazed how this list of values has helped me focus and decipher the path for myself, my career, and my company.  Bringing values to the forefront subjects everything else to the scrutiny of those values.  If it doesn’t line up with your values, you shouldn’t do it.  Sit down with a piece of paper and give this exercise a try.  I think you will find it rewarding, as I have. 

Special thanks to Rhonda Ford for her contributions to this subject.

Terri King

Did you see 20/20 last Friday?  Asheville was named the Happiest Place to Live in America.  Is happy a place, person, or thing?  No.  And, you can’t even stumble upon it.  Happy is a decision and the committment to personal excellence that makes the decision to be happy a reality. Now, don’t be sad.  This is great news.  This means you don’t have to wait, hope, pray for happiness. It’s not in your next paycheck, or your next relationship.  It’s right there inside of you and within your absolute control. In feast and in famine you can be happy.  Here’s 3 suggestions on cultivating happiness.

1. Put on a smile (even when you aren’t really feeling it)

2. Take a positive approach to your thinking and perceptions of your circumstances

3. Count your blessings

 Oh, and it doesn’t hurt to live in the happiest place in America. Call me if your ready to move.!!

Sorry, had to throw that one in there.  Here’s wishing you a happy day.

Terri King