People become really quite remarkable when they start thinking that they can do things. When they believe in themselves they have the first secret of success. - Norman Vincent Peale I love this quote!  To me it's saying that in order for you to become remarkable, you have to believe you are remarkable.  You need to believe in yourself!  I'm taking a little writing course on Monday nights, and last night, the instructor had us rate ourselves as writers on a scale of 1 - 10 and hold up our numbers.  They ranged from 4 to 7, and let me tell you, the instructor was very disappointed in our opinions of ourselves. Some of it was a cultural thing, I think.  We are not encouraged to think that we are all that and a slice of cake.  But guess what, you are, I am, we all are.  The instructor asked us how could we expect people to believe in our writing if we don't believe in our own ability to write?  She is right.  I want to become a remarkable writer, and in order to become remarkable, I have to first believe that I am remarkable. Believe in yourself.  That…

If you paint in your mind a picture of bright and happy expectations, you put yourself into a condition conducive to your goal. - Norman Vincent Peale It's no secret that our minds are incredibly powerful tools.  But as with any tool, you need to know how to use it.  Put me in front of a band saw, and I'd have no clue, until somebody showed me how to use it.  Our minds are the most powerful tool we have.  Think about it like an artist's brush and it's your job to paint your own picture. The more technical term is visualization, but I like the imagery of paining your own picture.  It's yours and yours alone.  Add a dream here, and a goal there.  Whatever you want. And of course you're going to craft happy, positive images for your picture, right?  You can't expect the happy ending if you are in a cranky mood.  You need to create, in your mind the expectations of what you want to achieve.  That will set you up to start working toward and achieving what you want. Visualization is using your mind to create what you want to bring into your life. Painting…

Believe in yourself. Have faith in your abilities. Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy. - Norman Vincent Peale Belief in yourself is a powerful tool.  If you don't believe in who you are and what you are capable of, you cannot accomplish anything. You have to have faith in yourself.  A strong belief in yourself can hold you steady when the course you are plotting gets rough.  It can also anchor you when it looks like you're about to get blown off course. It can be super hard, thought, to have faith in yourself. Especially if you let other people get in your head and bring you down.  There are a lot of people out there who take pleasure in treating others poorly, making them feel like they're unimportant or their ideas don't have value.  And sometimes it seems like the harder you try, the harder they try to get in your head and trample your confidence.  Don't let it happen.  Believe in yourself, believe in who you are and what you want to do. Have the confidence to know you can accomplish anything you set your mind to.  Just…