The Power of the Positive is a simple, direct, and empowering message that provides you with the tools to discover your passion and live the life you were meant to live. As you read the book, you will learn about building a strong foundation to support a happy and fulfilling future for the rest of your life. In clear, concise language, The Power of the Positive conveys the fundamental principles of connecting with your deepest emotions and living your wildest dreams. The power that led you to read these words is the power that will guide your transformation. Reading The Power of the Positive will change your day, but living The Power of the Positive will change your life.

This is the book you have been searching for.

So, are you ready to feel the power of the positive?

The Power Of The Positive

By Jason M. Taylor

Balboa Press

Copyright © 2011 Jason M. Taylor
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4525-3185-4

Contents

Preface.......................................XiFoundation....................................1Dream.........................................9Passion.......................................15Self-Reflection...............................27Vision........................................37Confidence....................................45Inner Strength................................55Independence..................................67Simplicity....................................79Optimism......................................91Final Thoughts................................105A Message from the Author.....................113

Chapter One

Foundation

Before discussing the details of the positive world, it is important to explain the fundamentals, or building blocks, from which everything originates. Within this central ideal of positivity are three basic components that collectively create an opportunity for greatness and true happiness. Those components are learning, living, and loving.

I'll begin by explaining a personal life motto I developed that encompasses these basic fundamentals. It is this principle that I live by each day:

Learn from yesterday; live for today; be better for tomorrow.

First, learn from yesterday—pretty simple and yet so complex at the same time. Learning is all about improvement. It is about making a point to become better from each experience and taking something positive from every situation. It is also about taking time at the end of each day to look back on how the day went overall. Each night, while lying in bed, I quickly think back to all the experiences and interactions that were part of my day. I evaluate the things I did well and the things I want to improve on.

If we don't stop to learn from our pasts, we have no hope or potential of becoming better for the future. Self-reflection opens those pathways for improvement and personal development. It also allows individuals to find out who they really are and what they represent. The first step in self-improvement is learning from the past, and the second is about living in the present. This concept is the second piece of my life motto: "live for today."

Live for today. Ask yourself right now, are you living for today? I hope your answer is yes, in every sense of the word. No one knows how long the current lives we're living are going to last or whether or not we'll be given second chances. Therefore, it is so important to make the most of each and every day we have. That is what living for today is all about. So many individuals struggle with overcoming what's happened in the past and therefore miss out on the opportunities that today brings. As I mentioned previously, all we can do is learn from the past, not live in it.

The important point to note about the concept of living for today is that you must define for yourself what that truly means. We are all motivated by and enjoy a wide variety of different things. So, for example, if working on projects or enjoying time outside with friends and family is a way for me to live for today, that's great. However, if you do the things that make you happy and fulfilled, that's great too. This is what makes life so interesting—we are all unique individuals. Living for today means living your personal happiness—however you define it—every single day.

Another key to this concept is that it is dynamic in nature. By that, I mean living for today one day may be different from what it may be the next, since no single day is the same as any other. You may do certain things today that excite you, but yesterday was different and may have included other things that fulfilled you. Living is truly about focusing on today with the drive for a greater tomorrow. This leads me to explain the last piece of my life motto, "be better for tomorrow."

Be better for tomorrow—the final step of the process. Applying the same concept I discussed earlier about not living in the past, we can't allow ourselves to live in the future either. It becomes rather easy when times are tough to simply wish the next day, week, or year were here today. This is what wishing your life away is all about. Sure, we all have our share of bad days, but our reactions to those situations are what prepare us for the future. The struggles and joys we experience through life are what guide our development and fuel our drive to improve.

It's simply human nature to want to be better—just look at history and where we've come from; the examples are endless. We've desired means of traveling faster and thus developed automobiles and airplanes. Dreams of exploring outer space have been fulfilled by drive, dedication, and perseverance. Now, as we look to tomorrow, we too strive to solve the problems of future generations and to make this world a better place. It is this continuous drive to improve that makes humans so unique. The key is that we all must strive to improve as individuals so that we not only enjoy our personal successes, but reap the rewards of our collective efforts as well.

Learning and living become integral parts of our everyday lives, but perhaps the most important piece is what links it all together. This piece I am referring to is the third component in the foundation of a positive world—love. Love is all about emotion—it is the glue that unites our hearts and the spark that lights our souls. It is also about showing how much we care, showing the passion within, and allowing our feelings to guide us through our lives. Love can even be so strong at times that it generates conflict and hardship. However, love is everlasting, and no matter how far we waver off course, it always points us back down our paths of destiny.

The remainder of this book is about building on the foundation of learning, living, and loving in order to create the life you've always dreamed of. The most important thing to realize is that success and happiness are the direct results of a positive approach to these fundamentals. With an open mind and an open heart, the only limit to your personal potential is your wildest dreams.

I have always been intrigued by how the same fundamental principles apply to all aspects of life. Therefore, as you continue to read, keep in mind that nothing I discuss is specific to certain people or situations—it all truly applies to everything. It is also important to note that everything we do is directly related in some shape or form to business. Therefore, I occasionally illustrate key messages throughout the book with examples that show the similarities between running a successful business and running a successful life. If you think about it, your life is like your own personal business, and only you are the boss of your company. You determine what you want to include and the ultimate success and happiness of the life you live. If people thought of their lives this way, they would likely live them much differently.

Entrepreneurship is nothing more than an individual or group of individuals pursuing a successful career or business. Likewise, the world is nothing more than humans pursuing successful lives. Through personal experiences and those of others I've been able to learn from, I will show you what the power of the positive is all about and everything it represents.

Fully realizing the true potential of the power of the positive takes a certain set of tools or attributes. Whether developing a business, a career, or simply a lifestyle, we require proper tools. We were not born with all of them, but they can be developed through time. In fact, we were all born with unique characteristics and traits. It's simply a fact of life that we all have strengths and we all have weaknesses. However, we can overcome our weaknesses and further enhance our strengths to become more well-rounded individuals. After all, once we have the proper tools, the only limits to our potential are those we put on ourselves.

An individual who possesses or works to develop certain psychological traits can truly live a life much happier and more rewarding than most would ever consider possible. These traits are the tools we can then use to fulfill our ultimate goals in life. The key to understand is that these traits are psychological in nature, not physical. They have nothing to do with height, weight, strength, or any other external personal trait. This is something that most people, as well as the society we live in, have difficulty with. We as humans tend to be very superficial by conceiving thoughts, forming opinions, and making decisions based on physical traits. It is important to realize and embrace the fact that people are who they are because of their psychological make-ups, not their physical features. If individuals are truly at peace with themselves and how they live their lives, nothing else matters. This concept is very simple and fundamental to some, but it is so difficult and complex to others.

Now that I've introduced you to the concepts around the power of the positive, I will begin to share the details of how it all fits together. Keep in mind that the foundation of the power of the positive centers around learning, living, and loving. Throughout the remainder of this book, I will explain the traits I previously mentioned and how they relate to this ideal of a positive life. The first trait is allowing your mind to be free, open, and willing to dream.

Chapter Two

Dream

Impossibility made possible. Again, impossibility made possible. This is my definition of a dream in its purest form—so simple, yet so powerful. To break it down, I will start with "impossibility." Having a dream begins with focusing your heart on things you desire to become reality. Most dreams seem so farfetched and unachievable that many people choose not to pursue them. In the positive world, impossibility simply does not exist—if you can imagine it, you can make it happen.

To continue, the word "made." This is the action, the "do," the part that directly involves the dreamer. It is about doing whatever it takes to turn that dream into an experience. As a child, I used to dream about having my own home one day and making it everything I could possibly dream of. I imagined it would be large, with a beautiful view, and custom built to my specifications. At that time, I thought many of these ideas were too difficult and ambitious to actually achieve. However, over the last few years, I have been able to truly embrace this new mindset of positivity. In the process, I have been very focused and committed to doing everything it takes to turn my dreams into experiences.

The final word in my definition of a dream, "possible," is exactly what these experiences are. The "possible" is simply the reality, the result, or the real-life existence of the dream. To me, these experiences are what make life so rewarding. Some may doubt that a twenty-three-year-old would be able to have a job he truly enjoys, a beautiful new home, two cars, and a basement and deck he built with his own two hands. However, I did everything I needed and wanted to do in order to make those dreams come true. My dreams have fueled an inner drive and commitment to realize their existence. This is the power of the positive.

The key to understand is that these were personal dreams I set for myself. We all have dreams and goals that are unique to each of us. You have dreams that are important and special to you. We must be aware and respectful of the fact that people dream about and strive for a variety of different things in life. The integral component is focusing on your dreams so that you can reach your true potential and enjoy your ultimate happiness in life.

As we get older, we may allow ourselves to stop dreaming and our minds to become stagnant. Accepting your life today as "okay" or "it is what it is" hinders the possibilities of a better tomorrow. Instead, we must continue to challenge our minds, our hearts, and our dreams, since opportunities for a greater future are never ending. Young children are experts at dreaming big and allowing their hearts to run wild. They dream of becoming astronauts, doctors, firefighters, teachers, presidents, and more. Kids aren't focused on all the minor details that it takes to get them to their dream— just on the opportunity to fulfill that experience. Too often people think of dreams as visions you have as a child that will one day be fulfilled as an adult. This is definitely not the case; dreams can be for today, tomorrow, or any time to come down the road.

In addition, as we develop and become adults, we discover the complexities of our world. These complexities can become obstacles to our dreams and reaching our true potential. This is why taking a step back and reminding ourselves that the details will take care of themselves is so important. If we focus our efforts strictly on creating opportunities for our dreams to come true, the pieces will fall into place when the time is right.

As an adult, you should dream just as much as you did when you were a young child. Make a point to turn off your mind at times to allow your heart to show you the way to your hopes and dreams. I still have many dreams that I am working toward, and they are what motivate me each day. As I move forward into the future, I will continue to dream big and work hard so that I can later enjoy those dreams as reality.

As I mentioned before, entrepreneurship is nothing more than an individual or group of individuals pursuing a successful career or business. In many cases, these people are chasing dreams that may have started when they were children, while they were in school, or simply on a day when love ignited their souls. Without that initial dream of success and prosperity, the opportunity for living those experiences is never created.

Throughout this discussion of dreams and how important they are in guiding our futures, I have discussed some personal examples for illustration purposes only. However, it is up to you to evaluate where you stand with your dreams. Make a point of taking time out of your day to ensure you are moving closer to your goals in life.

There are truly no limits on what your dreams may be, and always remember that anything is possible. No matter the doubts or obstacles that may come your way, let your creativity and imagination be your guide to fulfilling your dreams.

In the same manner that dreams fuel our inner spirits, another trait within each of us does this as well. This leads me to explain the next trait, passion.

Chapter Three

Passion

A dream is the spark that ignites the fire of true passion, and love is the fuel that keeps the flame burning bright. Passion is nothing more than that special something that inspires us to work harder today for an even better tomorrow. It's what causes your heart to beat faster and your love to grow stronger. In order to find this spark, we must look inside ourselves and search for what drives us. The passion within each of us emanates from our hearts and extends through our souls. This raw emotion shows us our purposes and our paths in the journey of life.

In general, people are attracted to things that are "good" in life. We want to surround ourselves with the people and things that make us feel good inside. This inner happiness is the passion we all desire. Take a look at the world around you, and you'll notice that those who are truly passionate about what they do are both successful and fulfilled. Teachers who love to educate feel that passion when their students do well and show signs of growth and development. Stay-at-home moms are passionate about being there for those special moments that they will remember for a lifetime. Professionals driven by their careers want nothing more than even greater successes and a future at the top. Whatever your passion may be, embrace it, and don't allow society's opinions to cause you to question whether it's right. If it's right for you and you are happy, nothing else matters. The key to all of this is discovering that inner passion, and there truly is a way to find it.

I'd like to start by telling you how I found my true passion. I hope that discussing what it took for me will provide you with some insights on how you too can find your passion in life. I have learned a great deal through this process, so this is my opportunity to help you.

I have always dreamed of a future full of happiness and success. I dreamed of having a great family, close friends, and a fulfilling career. I've also always loved helping others, and now I have dreams and aspirations to help change the world in a positive way. These dreams include teaching everyone how to feel the prosperity and exhilaration of life. By shifting the focus of our world on the positive today, we will proceed in a new direction for a better tomorrow. Until recently, however, I have never quite known what it was that would make all of these dreams come true. I began to realize that there had to be a fork in my path of destiny.

It wasn't until I was living alone during my last years of college that my life began to change significantly. Instead of looking strictly at the world around me, I began to look at the one thing I have complete control of: myself. Up to that point, I filled my spare time with distractions-things like watching television, surfing the Internet, or playing computer games. Rather than distracting my mind, I decided to create an opportunity to listen to my heart. I searched deep within to find out who I was, the things I wanted to stand for, and who I truly wanted to be. In some cases, the principles I wanted to stand for didn't match the person I was at the time. It was this realization that inspired a commitment I made to myself. That commitment was to ensure that the values I wanted to stand for and the person I wanted to be matched exactly who I was. It was also to make a point every single day to do the things I wanted and needed to do to get me one step closer to my ultimate dreams. This process was uncomfortable at first, as I learned things about myself that I wasn't proud of. However, I was able to admit my imperfections and started focusing strictly on becoming a better person.

(Continues...)

Excerpted from The Power Of The Positiveby Jason M. Taylor Copyright © 2011 by Jason M. Taylor. Excerpted by permission of Balboa Press. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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